50 Shades of Harmony
by ShortieJ
Summary: Hermione Granger never knew what one interview could do to her life. She doesn't know if she should hex her best friend, Luna Lovegood, or not. Is Hermione ready for everything that is the mysterious Harry Potter or will she buckle under the intensity that his green eyes can hold? A Harmony version of 50 Shades of Grey. Rated M for a reason.
1. Get It Right

Some of the parts of this story are taken directly from 50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James… If you find yourself glancing at the book then at this story, you will notice how it follows the story. In this chapter most of the interview is the same-just in HP verse. Obviously none of the characters or places are mine. I owe that all to the brilliant J.K. Rowling. I owe the idea of the story to E.J. James… Basically I'm just writing a bunny that wouldn't leave my head. I make no money off this, obviously. I'm sure that there are others who have done this idea before, like storieofmilife with 50 Shades of Green (also a Harmony twist to 50 and Potter)… Hopefully my own version is different enough for that story that you can appreciate this one as well. I'll be taking liberties in this story about some of the characters, as obviously they are OOC for the Potterverse/50 in their own senses. You'll just have to read more to find out exactly how much. All chapter titles will be random song titles from my own playlist that I listen to while writing. This chapter title is credited to Glee…

**Fifty Shades of Harmony**

**Chapter 1: Get It Right**

I glare at myself in the mirror. I can't decide which I'm more upset with—my hair being too bushy for its own good or my best friend, Luna Lovegood. I roll my eyes and admit that the anger is more directed at Luna and simply put my chestnut hair up into a ponytail. Of all the things that I could be doing today, like studying for my NEWTs, I had to go in to London to go to the Ministry of Magic. _Where did my black flats disappear to?! _I think to myself. Of course, nothing could go my way today… Damn Luna.

Luna, for all her dreaminess, had chosen today to go out with her father to hunt for nargles. Her excuse was that it was the perfect day—she had no idea that her father would request that she go along with him. The interview needed to go on, and who better than Hermione to conduct it in Luna's place. Again, I roll my eyes. Luna would think that. I agree with Luna that the interview needed to go on as planned. The Quibbler, Luna's father's magazine, was doing an article on Harry Potter. Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived and now the youngest Minister of Magic to ever be elected in the magical world had never agreed to a face-to-face interview with anyone. Everything that as published about Mr. Potter was second-hand information or quotes that he had given during a speech.

Luna walked into my private room—part of the perks of being Head Girl at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Luna put on one of her bright smiles. "You look lovely," she said as she sat down on my bed.

I turned around from my mirror and looked at my best friend. "Simple blue sweater, simple black skirt, and NO black flats… Luna, sometimes I think you might be a little too out there."

"Hermione, simple on you looks great—it always has. Have I told you how thankful I am for you doing this for me? It took me nine months to convince Mr. Potter to do an interview with me! By the time that I might have been able to get him to reschedule, we'd already be graduated! Nargles are even more evasive than Mr. Potter… Who else would be able to say that they got to interview THE Harry Potter besides you?" Luna's blue eyes gave me a puppy dog look. Luna knew the effect she had on people when she wanted her way. Her dreamy demeanor mixed with those blue eyes could get even Harry Potter to give her an interview… Or in this case, me.

"Yes, Luna, you have. Even though I should be studying for our NEWTs… I'll go, just for you," I roll my eyes again.

"You'll be getting O's on all of your courses, Hermione. You know this, I know this, all of the professors know this… One day out interviewing the delectable Harry Potter will do you good," Luna said as she smiled even more.

"If he's so 'delectable', Luna, why don't you give up nargle hunting to go and do this interview?"

"Because I want the chance to be able to say that I've captured a nargle while no one else can say that, Hermione! Here are all my notes and my Quick Quill. You'll need it. It's the most accurate recorder that journalists are offered now. I've got all my questions on this parchment here. Just stick to these and you'll do fine, Hermione. You'll get everything I need to write this article. Remember when you get to the Ministry that you need to go to the thirteenth top floor. That's where Mr. Potter's office is. Thank you again, so much. You really are the best friend that anyone could ask for, you know."

"Fine… Fine. As soon as I find my flats I'll be going," I say as I look again in my closet and grab my cloak.

"You mean the shoes that are sitting right in front of your mirror?" Luna asks, cocking her head to the side as she stares down to the floor.

"If I'm truly the brightest witch of our age, you'd think I'd be able to see my bloody shoes in front of my face…" I mumble as I slip on the shoes.

Luna laughed. "This is why I'm going nargle hunting. Good luck, Hermione. You truly are a lifesaver!"

With that, I head out of my room and towards the Headmistress's office. McGonagall personally knew Harry Potter and had agreed to let me take her floo to the ministry. For the life of me I couldn't believe I let Luna talk me into this. But then again, what are best friends for?

I have never been to the Ministry of Magic. When I step out of the fireplace, my eyes begin to scan everything. There are so many people going to and from each direction. I spot the check-in desk right beside the elevators that would lead me to my destination.

Behind the desk sat a very pretty blonde woman going over parchments. I approach her, waiting for her to look up from her reading. Finally, I clear my throat. "Excuse me, miss. I was told that I needed to check-in before proceeding further in the ministry?"

"Sorry, sorry… And you are…?" the blonde said, finally looking up from her parchment and grabbing another parchment from the side.

"Hermione. Hermione Granger. I'm here to see the Minister of Magic for Luna Lovegood."

"Wand, please. Standard procedure. We've got to clear all personnel for entering our facilities—especially if you're trying to get in to see Mr. Potter."

I drew my wand out from inside my cloak and hand it to the blonde who I notice is wearing a badge that says 'Clara Clark, Check-In Secretary'. Within a moment a similar badge appears from my wand that reads 'Hermione Granger, Visitor—Minister's Floor'.

"Thank you Miss Granger. You can proceed to the elevators. Please put your badge on so it can be read clearly. The elevator takes you to where you badge says you are going when you're a visitor," Clara says, giving a brilliant smile that threatens to blind me if I look at her any longer.

I nod and walk to the elevator where it seems to read my badge as it opens the doors. Inside are only ministry employees as their badges read. I wonder why until it hits me that not many visitors would be going to the minister's floor. Another glance around reveals that I am the only brunette woman in the elevator. _Odd_.

As everyone exits the elevator, again I notice the lack of brown-haired females. If that wasn't the only difference between me and the rest of my own gender, they were all dressed beyond success. I am dressed simply, but these women are dressed so sharply that I am sure that no outfit has ever seen a wrinkle from coming out of the wash. I shake my head and approach another desk so I could get directions. Of course, a blonde sat behind the desk with a badge that read 'Hannah Abbott, Minister's Secretary'.

I put my shoulders back, mustering up courage in place of the awkwardness I feel from being so out of place. I wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing! "I'm here to see Mr. Potter. Hermione Granger for Luna Lovegood."

"One moment please, Miss Granger," Hannah says as she checks her schedule. "Ah, here it is. Mr. Potter is expecting Miss Lovegood. Please sign in here. After you've signed in you can take a seat. Mr. Potter is a very busy person and as soon as he can he will see you."

I nod as I sign in and go to sit down. As I look around the lobby I notice how uniformed everything seems to be. Everything had such preciseness to it. While it was beautiful, it did not seem like the lobby of the minister of magic. I expected there to be something almost magical about it. This seemed to be exactly how I'd envision my own lobby if I ran my own business. Another thing that caught my eye was the view out of the window. You could see London for miles and miles out of it. It was breathtaking.

_I really should look over some of these questions before I go in to this interview… Make it seem like I know what I'm doing in there… _I think to myself as I begin to fumble around in my purse which I had put the parchment and quill. If my day couldn't get any worse, I got a paper cut from one of my books that I also had floating around in my charm-expanded purse. I bite my lip as I pull my finger out and place it in my other hand, cursing in my head. One would think for how much I studied the tips of my fingers would be used to this by now!

Just as I was going to ask where the bathroom was so I could wash off the blood from my finger, another elegant blonde steps towards me. "Miss Granger?" she asks.

"Yes," I say, wiping the drops of blood on the inside of my cloak instead of washing it off like I wanted to.

"Mr. Potter will be just a moment. He had another meeting. May I take your cloak?"

"Oh, thank you," I say and stand up to hand her the cloak.

"Would you like something to drink? We've got pumpkin juice or water available."

"No… No thank you. I'm fine. Thank you."

"When you're done with your interview, my desk is right over there. I put all the cloaks back here. Just come right over and I'll have it ready for you," the blonde says as she smiles and then walks back over towards her desk.

At that moment a door opened and a tall African American man walks out of an office. He turns back and hangs his head back in the door. "Quidditch sometime this week, Potter?"

I can't hear the reply from inside the office. The blonde who had just taken my cloak is suddenly right next to the man, handing him a cloak that must be his. The woman is smiling up at him. "I hope you have a very pleasant rest of the day, Mr. Shacklebolt," she says with a wink then disappears back behind her desk.

"Have a good day yourself, Cierra. You too, Hannah," Mr. Shacklebolt says as he goes out of the lobby towards the elevators.

"Mr. Potter will see you now, Miss Granger," Hannah says from behind her desk. "You don't need to knock, he's expecting you."

I nod and stand up, going towards the door I just saw the man walk out of. AS I push the door open, I suddenly find myself staring at the shoes of the Minister of Magic rather than looking at his face. _And here I thought that a bloody paper cut was the worst thing that was going to happen to me while I was here!_

The next thing that I see are the bent knees of what I can only guess is Harry Potter. A deep masculine voice asks, "Would you like a hand up, Miss Lovegood? I've heard of people falling head over heels, but I've never seen it literally done before. Are you okay? Would you like to sit?"

As I take his hand I realize how smooth it is. It never crossed my mind just how young the youngest Minister of Magic would be. "Miss Granger," is all I can manage to say as I look into his brilliant emerald eyes. For the first time that I can remember, I seem to forget everything that I am. Even magical photos of this man cannot capture him perfect as seeing him in the flesh in front of you.

"I was under the impression that I would be interviewing with Miss Lovegood. Who are you?" he asks, staring down at me. It would seem like he was trying to take in every inch of my being with just a simple glance at me. I feel frozen in place the intensity in his eyes.

"Hermione. Hermione Granger. I'm Miss Lovegood friend from Hogwarts. She had another engagement come up today but really wanted to write this article. She seemed to think that I'd be okay to conduct the interview with you, if that's okay, I mean… We should have asked, I'm sure… But it was such short notice…" I ramble on, completely embarrassing myself for how fast I am talking.

Mr. Potter smiles, "Please sit, Miss Granger," he says as he motions towards the stark white leather chair in front of his mahogany desk. He goes to sit in his chair. The walls behind him are covered in paints. Most of them are of fields of flowers.

"They're lovely," I say, looking at all the paintings.

"Lilies. They're my favorite flower," he says, glancing backwards at the art. "My little sister Ginny painted them for me. She said my office was too clinical and made her feel like she was walking into a doctor's office every time she came to visit."

I looked around the rest of the too-big office and think the same thing. The paintings are the only thing with color to them. The rest is black and white, much like the lobby area. I think that Ginny was very right when she hung up the paintings. I begin to look around in my purse for the parchment of questions the Quick Quill. Mr. Potter raises an eyebrow as my paper cut finger hits the tip of the quill. I pull out the parchment and set up the quill with the extra parchment that I brought with for the answers. "Oh… I guess I forgot to ask. Is it okay to use a Quick Quill? Miss Lovegood said that it'd be best to record all the answers…"

"When you went through all the trouble to get it out of your charmed purse, I don't see why you asked me my opinion, Miss Granger," Potter says, obviously trying to suppress a smile.

"S-sorry. I'm not use to this. Did Luna, I mean, Miss Lovegood, tell you what the interview was for?"

"Yes. She's writing an article in the Quibbler to appear the week that Hogwarts will be holding graduation. I will be handing out diplomas along with your NEWTs results. She explained that it'd be the perfect time for my first actual interview with a publication."

_This is news to me_, I think. How can I be Head Girl and have no knowledge of this? McGonagall and Neville must have discussed this and decided without me knowing… Since I've been so preoccupied with studying for NEWTs, if they had told me it slipped my mind.

"I have some questions, Mr. Potter," I say as I put a stray piece of hair behind my ear, trying to not be as nervous as he makes me.

He actually smiles at this one. "I wouldn't have guessed, Miss Granger," he says.

_He's amused by you. Great. Perfectly and utterly great._ "Well… You're very young to have been elected as Minister of Magic. The youngest one the magical world has ever seen. To what do you owe your success to?" I glance up from the parchment to see his smile faded and a look of disappointment cross his face. Shouldn't he have been expecting this question?

"I'm very good at judging people, Miss Granger. The people of magical Britain needed someone who knew about what has gone on in their world to help them through the darkness that Voldemort created before I defeated him when I was seventeen. If not me to take this position, I would have hated to let someone who was stuck thinking the same ideals that had allowed Voldemort to take such command. I can see what inspires people, Miss Granger. What the people needed was hope and a leader, something that throughout the second war of Voldemort I showed I had. I was able to put together teams to help bring the downfall, something that I use every day to help run the Ministry. Before my time people were simply put in to different departments because that's where they wanted to go. We now have an entrance exam into the Ministry that is based on where you want to be employed and where you would best be at. It comes down to the people, Miss Granger, in which you associate yourself with. Without knowledge and power, the people would be nowhere and we'd be living in a world where you wouldn't even be able to come into my office because of your blood status."

"Maybe you're just lucky. I've read about how you found the Horcruxes. If others hadn't figured out where they were…"

His eyes flash in surprise that I had the nerve to say that. I can't believe that I had the nerve to say that. I don't actually believe that—Harry Potter was every bit as powerful as he claims he is. I just felt the need to bring him down a peg or two. No one needs to sit on that high of horse, even if you defeated Voldemort and you are the youngest Minister of Magic.

"I'm not one to believe in luck, Miss Granger. It's all about doing what is right over what is easy. That's something that Albus Dumbledore, you previous Headmaster, told me before he died. It's something that I live my life by. It's about putting the right people in the right places to make the best outcomes. If one thing goes out of place, the entire scheme of things gets thrown off."

"You sound like a control freak." _Damn it, Granger! Hold your tongue! Were you not just speechless around this man?!_

"I exercise control in all things, Miss Granger," he says with a stern look on his face. I look up at him from the parchment and my heart quickens. How can a man this arrogant be so, so…

"Do you feel that you have immense power?" I ask, going on to the next question on Luna's list. How much did she truly know about this man before she wrote these questions?

"I have responsibilities that I must live up to, Miss Granger. If that makes it appear that I have great power, then so be it. I guess I must have had some of that along with luck when I defeated Voldemort or became Minister of Magic, right? Like I said, I put people where they need to be placed to succeed." He says this all very cheekily.

"Don't you listen to the people if they don't want to go there, though?"

"I always take it into consideration, yes. Most of the time people end up seeing things my way. Must have something to do with me being the Minister and all."

I roll my eyes. I decide that I want him to get off this arrogant kick now. What happened to the man that was just talking about his little sister and how she painted the flowers for him? He seemed to humble then. "Do you have any interests outside of work?"

"I have many interests, Miss Granger," he says and the smile appears again. "Many interests."

Wicked thoughts cross my mind about what he could mean by this and I'm struggling to figure out why my mind went to such an alley of thoughts. I'm never one to jump into anything sexual—in school I'm known for being a basic prude. It's a harsh word, but it is what it is. What is it about this man that does such things to me?

"But if you work so hard to put everyone in their place, what do you do to relax?"

"Relax, Miss Granger? I surprised you know this word," he says and smiles. Merlin, a man should never be this good looking. What is wrong with me?

"Yes, Mr. Potter. Relaxation. When you simply take time to enjoy the world around you and rest your mind."

"I like to fly. I like to cook. I like various physical activities, Miss Granger," he says.

I go to the next question quickly. It's like he's reading my mind and I don't even like the road my mind was wondered down.

"You invest a lot of money quidditch, Mr. Potter. Why?"

"Like I just said, Miss Granger, I like to fly. I believe that maybe in a different life I could have been a Quidditch player. Flying, to me, is the most 'relaxing' thing to do Miss Granger. Why shouldn't other enjoy Quidditch the way that I enjoy flying? I fund Britian's Quidditch team, I ensure that Hogwarts students have the finest equipment possible… Each generation should love to fly."

"That's almost touching, Mr. Potter. For someone who seems to use a lot of logic in his line of work, your heart seems to truly be in to flying."

"Some people say I don't have a heart, Miss Granger."

"Really?"

"They know me well," he says with another heart-quickening smile.

"Would your friends say that you're an easy person to know?" _Why did I just ask that? Luna didn't have that down on the list._

"No, they wouldn't. I like my privacy, Miss Granger."

"Why did you agree to do the interview then, Mr. Potter? You've never agreed to do one before, why for Luna?"

"I know Headmistress McGonagall and most of the professors there personally. Most of them were great forces in the war, Miss Granger. When you add in Miss Lovegood constantly owling me and even going so far as to talk to my sister Ginny, well, you end up with an interview."

"I didn't know that Luna knew your family."

"…she doesn't."

"Oh," is all I can say. I know how Luna can be and understand. She makes you do things that you'd never dream of doing.

"You are also invested in farming technology, Mr. Potter, something very rare for a wizard. Most don't care where their food comes from. You've even gone so far as to donate millions of galleons to muggles to provide food to those who can't afford it. Why?"

"We can eat galleons, Miss Granger. It doesn't matter how much money one makes, everyone needs to eat," he said again with the stern look on his face.

"Is this something that you feel very passionate about, Mr Potter? Feeding the world's poor?"

He shrugs. "Like I said, everyone needs to eat."

"Do you have a philosophy? If so, what is it?"

"Nothing much besides doing what is right over what is easy, Miss Granger. It's the right thing to do to make sure that everyone has to eat. It's nothing to do with making myself more wealthy by making sure that everyone can have a plate to eat for each meal during the day. I like to control the thing around me."

"So you want to possess things, then?"

"I want to deserve to possess the things that I possess, Miss Granger. But in the end, yes. Yes I do."

I can feel the heat in the room expand to cover every inch of space in here. I begin to fan myself, trying to not let my mind wonder to what he could mean by that question. Surely Luna has enough now to do this article… Yet still, she has more.

"You were adopted by the Weasleys at a young age. Not much is known about you before then, though. Do you think that has shaped the way that you are?" This question is much more personal than the other questions. What was Luna thinking?

"I don't know, Miss Granger. I know that I'm lucky that they took me in when they did."

"How old were you?"

"I'm sure that you could read any book supposedly about me Miss Granger to see that they adopted me." Evidentially, I didn't need to know unless I looked it up. I knew when I left here I was going to go to the Hogwarts library and figure it out. I'm surprised that I didn't know the answer… Then again, I only knew about his part in the war.

"You've had to sacrifice family life for your work."

"That's not a question, Miss Granger,"

"Sorry," I mumble as I look down to the next question and want to bash my head against the desk. Luna clearly wasn't thinking when she wrote these!

"Are… Are you gay, Mr. Potter?"

I really should have read these questions through before I came here. I should have told Luna there were some things she did not need to know about people or should she care about. What good would this do for her article?

"No, Hermione, I am not," he said. You can hear anger in his voice as he answers this.

"I'm so sorry. It's written here…" I say. It's the first time he's said my name, not Miss Granger. It's enough to make my already fluttering heart threaten to stop. I tuck another fly away hair behind me ear.

He looks at me, questioning my words. "These aren't your own words?"

"No… No, they're not. Miss Lovegood wrote the questions. I'm just reading directly from what she wrote."

"Are you also involved in the Quibbler?"

"No… I'm just doing this for my best friend."

He again gives me a very questioning look. "Did you even want to do this interview?"

"Are you now controlling the interview, Mr. Potter?" I ask. _Damn my tongue_.

"Maybe I am, Miss Granger. Isn't is common courtesy to answer the question in the interview process?"

"No, Mr. Potter, I did not want to. I was simply doing this as a favor. I wanted to be studying for my NEWTs since they are approaching next week."

He nods. "That explains a lot of things then, Miss Granger."

A knock comes at the door and Hannah's blonde head peeks around the door. "I'm sorry for interrupting, Mr Potter, but your next meeting with Amelia Bones has been waiting for about twenty minutes…"

"Please cancel with her, Miss Abbott. Tell her that I am sorry and I will owl her with another time that we can meet to go over the DMLE review," Mr. Potter says with the coolness in his voice that he seems to have when he's tense.

"Very well, Mr. Potter," she says and blushes as she exits the room. _Good. I'm not the only one who seems to be affected by him._

"Where we were, Miss Granger?" He says, looking back to me and making me shiver by his gaze.

"Please, don't let me keep you from your meeting. You are the Minister of Magic… Others need you. I'm just a school girl conducting an interview. I'm sure that Luna has enough information to write her article by now, Mr. Potter."

"I want to know more about you though, Miss Granger. I think it's only fair after some of the questions Miss Lovegood had you ask," he said with that smile. _Crap. Where is he going with this?_ He moves his fingers to underneath his mouth. _Double crap. This is too distracting._

"There's… There's not much to know about me."

"What are your plans after you graduate?"

I shrug. _Move to Diagon Alley with Luna, find a job…_ "I haven't really though beyond my NEWTs. A job really does depend on my scores."

"But you've had to take classes to try and get in to a profession, correct? Which profession did you have in mind when you signed up for your classes?"

"I… I was thinking about being a Healer, but now I'm not so sure… I just need to get through my final exams."

"We run an excellent program here, Miss Granger. I'm sure that you'd do great in some of our departments here. I'm always looking for more help up here," he says. _Is he offering me a job?_

"I'll keep that in mind. I'm not sure that I'd fit in around here, though."

"Why do you say that, Miss Granger?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" _I'm not blonde, I'm uncoordinated, I'm simple…_

"Not to me." His gaze is making he fidget. I'm feeling things I've never felt before. What is this man doing to me? I lean forward towards the desk to grab the parchment and quill from scribbling the answer during the interview.

"Would you like me to show you around?"

"I'm sure you're far too busy, Mr. Potter. Maybe you should owl Ms. Bones about your appointment that you missed because of me." I grab my purse from the floor where I had place it and put the parchments and quill quickly inside, ready to leave the room.

"Be careful, Miss Granger. Did you get everything that you needed?" _Why did he care if I was careful? _

"Yes, sir, I did. Thank you for the interview, Mr. Potter."

His eyes narrow at something that I had said or did. I'm not completely sure. "The pleasure's been all mine, Miss Granger," he whispers in my ear as he shakes my hand.

I shake his hand, my nerves getting the better for me as it's obvious in the way my hand is shaking. He leads me out the door. "Just making sure that you make it over the doorway, Miss Granger," he says with a smile.

"That's very nice of you, Mr. Potter," I snap at him, not happy with his mentioning my clumsiness. If possible, he smiles even more.

"Did you have a cloak?" he asks, looking towards Cierra's desk. Cierra appears next to me, going to hand it to me. Before she could, though, Potter takes it from her as he leads me to the elevator.

He holds it up as to let me slip my arms through it. Feeling even more self-conscious than I already am, I shrug into the coat and nod my head in a simple thank you to him. It really should be against the law for someone to be like him, to look like him. His hands rest for a moment on my shoulders, grasping them. I can feel his need to control things coursing through my body. If it notices my shivers, he's not reacting to them. I need to leave, now. I turn to thank him again to see him now against the wall, staring at me.

"Hermione," he says, back to his intense gaze his a stern smile.

"Harry," I say as the elevator door closes.


	2. You Learn

Chapter Title—Alanis Morisette… As always, J.K. Rowling and E.L. James take the credit for their own brilliance… I'm simply borrowing from their minds and twisting it to my own liking and hopefully that of others.

**50 Shades of Harmony**

**Chapter 2: You Learn**

My heart is trying to escape my chest. I don't know if I can stand being around all these people when it feels like I'm going to collapse here in the elevator because of that one interview. I'm never going to do that again… Especially with anyone like Harry Potter. I need to cool down. Instead of taking the floo directly back to Hogwarts, I step out into the cool London air. I can walk to the Leaky Cauldron from here and go to Hogsmeade and then walk back up to school.

No one has ever affected me the way that Harry Potter has. I'm Hermione Granger—studious, hardworking, and sometimes scary with my intelligence from what Luna has said… But that MAN back there made me feel… Different. Like I could be another person. Someone who he actually desired. But that's insane. He could have any witch in the whole world that he wanted…he was that handsome. There would be no way that plain me could ever have someone like him. He's done so many things for his young age… And what have I done? Nothing compared to that. I'm sure that my professors would point out how I'm the brightest witch of the century to pass through Hogwarts. They take pride in telling me that a lot and making me blush because for the longest time I had a hard time making friends because of how much of a know-it-all I can be… But this man… He makes me feel like I could be so much more…

I shake my head and continue my walk. At one point I feel like I am being stared at and turn around to look behind me. All I can see is the Ministry of Magic almost glaring at me, taunting me. It's like his eyes burning into me, trying to figure out all that I am and everything that I've done. _Stop it!_ I yell at myself mentally. Think of how arrogant he was. That is almost enough for all his good qualities to be diminished. Sure, he's very polite, but he's got a coldness to him that in itself could make a whole town freeze. But his passion…the way he wants to feed the world… He's got a past that not even I can figure out right now. No one becomes that passionate about something without experiencing something that makes you change the way you look at the world.

As I continue to walk towards the Leaky Cauldron, I'm still thinking about the enigma that is Harry Potter. What was his past like? Why is he so cryptic? And Luna's questions… What was that girl thinking?! 'Are you gay?' I shudder. Every time I think about asking him that, I've never been so embarrassed. I'll also shiver about him calling me Hermione though… It had such an effect on me that it's almost as wrong as how good looking that man is. Damn Luna Lovegood and her bloody questions!

When I finally reach the Leaky Cauldron, I have to sit down. My thoughts won't quit racing about those brilliant emerald eyes and the intensity in them. I can't decide if I hate the man or if I'm completely bonkers about him… Something that I never have to think about. Something that's not me. Tom comes over and hands me a drink—I don't ask what it is, we don't speak, I just swallow it and thank him, handing him a galleon for it.

"Any time, lass. No pretty face should look that lost," he says as he moves on to other customers.

I get up and go into the back room to use the floo and go to Hogsmeade where I can get myself back to Hogwarts. Luna Lovegood and I need to have a chat about this.

By the time that I reach my dorm, Luna is sitting in the little common room that Neville and I share. You'd think the girl practically lived there—which she did most days. Neville had joked once that he needed go to back to the Gryffindor boys' dormitories and just give Luna his room. We'd even thought about taking him up on his offer until we realized that McGonagall probably wouldn't go along with the plan.

"Hermione! You're back!" Luna says sitting up from her position on the couch. "I was beginning to worry… I expected you back sooner."

"I thought I made good time considering I walked to the Leaky Cauldron and from Hogsmeade. What are you doing back already? I figured you'd be gone all day," I say as I sit my purse down and kick off my shoes. She immediately begins to dig through my purse looking for the parchments and the quill.

"Well, turns out that Daddy got the wrong year… Nargles won't be out till next year for people to see them if they know where to look. We made our way there to get thrown out of the area by the muggle police… Where are the parchments at? You and this bottomless bag, Hermione…"

Hermione waved the parchments in her hand. "You mean these?"

"Hermione, thank you so much for doing this… I owe you, I know. What was he like? How was it? Was he as handsome as everyone says?" Luna began to ramble as she grabbed for the parchments.

"Before you read these, I want you to know something. I'm so glad that it's over and that I don't have to see him again until graduation and then never after that. He was… I don't even know how to describe it, Luna. There's something about him that screams that he's terrifying… I mean, you have to be to have defeated You-Know-Who, right? But nothing can prepare you for talking to the man one-on-one. He's so focused… So intense. Why didn't you tell me this?"

Luna looks down at the ground. I frown.

"Why didn't you tell me, Luna? I looked like such an idiot… I even asked him at what age he was adopted and he told me to go read a book. ME to go READ A BOOK! I felt like such an idiot…"

Luna lets out a giggle but the look I give her stops her from holding her stomach in the humor of it.

"How old is he anyways? I mean… I knew he was older than us… But… He looks like he could have graduated just a couple years ago!"

"Twenty-four, actually. Maybe you should read a book about him, Hermione. An unofficial biography about Harry Potter might be just what you need to read. I figured you'd know more about him Hermione, I'm sorry."

I roll my eyes. "It's okay, truly. He was mostly polite. He seems a lot older than twenty-four… Like he's lived two life times or so. I guess that could happen to someone when you defeat a dark lord… Crap! What time is it?" I ask, turning to look towards the clock that hangs over the fireplace.

"Almost four o'clock… Why?" Luna asks.

"If I hurry, I can still make it back down to Hogsmeade. I forgot that I worked at QuidSups today because of all this… I forgot to owl Lucius and tell him I wouldn't be in… If I still have time, I should really get to work. Here are the answers to all your _wonderful_ questions, Luna. I'll see you tonight!" I say, run quickly into my room to throw on jeans instead of skirt, put back on my flats, then run out of the door to get back to Hogsmeade.

After the war, part of Lucius Malfoy's payment to society had been to open a store that gave seventy-five percent of its profits to Hogwarts for muggleborn students. Another part of his 'punishment' had been to have a muggleborn always working in his store. Hermione Granger had been looking for a job as soon as she hit her seventh year and Malfoy had been quick to snatch up the smart girl. While she didn't know anything about Quidditch, she was brilliant at inventory and such… The exact thing that his son, Draco, was not good at. Lucius basically got to remain a member of society while his son did most of the work for him and Hermione did the rest of it.

I'm glad that I was able to go to work. It might not be the best job, but it helped pay for things that I needed during the school year rather than ask my parents for money. It also gave me something other to think about than Harry Potter. We're pretty busy at QuidSups because Hogwarts is getting ready to have its final match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. The rest of the year we're moderately busy with students and the rest of the town coming in but whenever Hogwarts has a match it seems like we're swamped. I almost want to tell Lucius he could actually work during this time rather than leaving Draco and I to do all the work, but I really do enjoy having a job.

"Hermione! I'm glad to see you made it in today! You're never late," Draco says as he walks past while he's handling a customer.

"Graduation stuff. Tell your dad I'm sorry when you see him. I'll be here till closing tonight," I say as I take stock of all that Draco's sold today.

"I will. I'm glad you made it in," he says with a nod and walks off.

I'm quickly taken in by how much we've sold today and making lists for Lucius to reorder. Organization—my key to successfully forgetting Harry Potter exists for a couple of hours.

When I get back up to Hogwarts right before curfew, Luna is still in my common room, humming away to the wireless. She writing so fast that it looks like the quill is flying across the page. I collapse next to her, trying to see what she's writing.

"Oh! Hermione! You scared me… I figured I'd crash here for the night, Neville said it was okay before he went to bed… I needed some quiet space to write this article. You got some amazing stuff in here! I can't believe you turned him down on showing you around the Ministry! The Minister doesn't do that for anyone. He's got _people_ to show around his new employees… It's amazing, Hermione. He wanted to spend more time with you and you completely crushed his idea." Luna rambles off, finally putting her quill down on the small coffee table.

My heart races, just like it did during the interview. Luna can be so forward sometimes that it catches you by surprise. Luckily for me I've gotten use to most of my best friend's quirks. I'm sure that Potter just wanted to show me around. He's always looking for a way to forward his business. I realize that I'm biting my lip out of habit of thinking too much. I hope that Luna doesn't notice because she likes to tell me that I should have been a Ravenclaw rather than a Gryffindor for how much my brain works. Luckily for me, she seems to be so absorbed in her reading what she's written that she doesn't notice.

"I see what you mean about him, though. It's even obvious through these notes how intense he can be. I wish we could have got some pictures, though. That'd make this article amazing. Daddy might even ask me to become a full journalist from this article alone, Hermione. I can't thank you enough for this. He's really good looking, isn't he?"

"I guess," I say, back to biting my lip. _Please don't look up now, Luna._

"Come on, Hermione… Even you can't be immune to him. I know you're like, anti-romance over there, but he's got charm, you've got to admit it." Luna says smiling as she finally looks up from her parchment.

_Nargles!_ I think, laughing inwardly from my new use of Luna's animals. I can feel my cheeks going red from her remarks. She smiles even more knowing that she's hit a button inside of me.

"You probably could have got so much more out of the interview than me, though. You've got a bigger personality than me. Besides, you seem to fit into his type. All of his female employees were blonde that worked directly for him. The only time I seen another hair color was when I was one the first floor. Speaking of _his type_ why did you ask if he was gay? That question was…ugh. He seemed pissed that I asked it."

"Whenever there's any sort of Ministry ball or anything, he's always by himself. You see him with his family or bodyguards, but there's never a date. I was just curious as to why. A man like that should have no problems getting a date."

I nod. "It was so embarrassing though. The whole thing was embarrassing. Did I tell you that I literally fell into his office?"

"You didn't!"

"I did. For all that I am, graceful has never been a word to describe you. My unfortunate habit picked just that moment to kick in. I was mortified, Luna. Completely mortified."

Luna smiled, remembering all the times that I had tripped over my own feet. "For what it's worth, Hermione, he seemed to be completely taken with you. If I were you, I'd go for it if you ever got the chance to. Who wouldn't want to be with him?"

"Ugh, Luna… Just ugh. Would you like some pumpkin juice? I need something to drink."

"Please!" She says, giving off her dreamy smile again, then going back to work.

I sigh as I stand up and go to the magical plant portrait that's really an opening the kitchens that we have in our common room to ask the house elves for some pumpkin juice, shaking my head the entire time at the being that is Luna Lovegood, the woman that I call my best friend.

The rest of the evening, there are no more words mentioned of Harry Potter. Luna continues on her article and I study for my Charms NEWT. Finally Luna yawns and says she's going to sleep. I big her goodnight as she goes to make her bed on the couch like she does every night. I stretch my arms, trying to get the blood flowing through them again. I decide that maybe I should try to get some sleep myself before class tomorrow. I go to bed and dream of cold, white offices and haunting green eyes.

The week goes by very fast. I study and work at QuidSups. Luna is busy, too, trying to finish a few other articles that her father had her working on and touching up her own article. I owled my mother to see how her and my father are doing. I hope that her and Daddy are still doing well. They decided that they needed to go to Australia when I entered my seventh year at Hogwarts. They said that they just felt that they were supposed to go there and Mom's always listened to her inner feelings. That's one thing about her that I'll never understand. I told her about Harry Potter...in a sense. I told her how I had gone to an interview for Luna and how much it bothered me. I didn't tell her how I'm still having dreams of those green eyes. I open the letter from her that I just received.

**Hermione,**

**Australia is wonderful, dear! I'm so glad that your father and I moved here. You'll have to come to visit after your graduation sometime! I'm sure that a nice tan would do wonders for you. I'm sure you'll need to relax some after all the work you've been putting in studying for your NEWTs. Your father sends his love. He's busy in the garden as I write this. Who would have known how much you father loved to plant flowers? He's currently experimenting on crossing-breeding different types. Now that sounds like you're father, I'm sure you're thinking.**

**I'm sending along a few novels that I read lately that I think will help you study. You always need a break my child. And knowing you, you're reading this, rolling your eyes, and thinking about how wrong I am… But remember, dear, I know you very well even if I don't get to see you more than a couple weeks of the year.**

**It sounds like you're quite taken with this man. What's his name again? I don't believe you mentioned it. You really should date more, dear. It's good for your health to be a healthy relationship. Not to mention the things it can do for your mood! If I could only express how much Australia has helped your father and I…**

**Now that I've got you shaking your head at me, I'll tell you good-bye and that I love you, Hermione. Good luck on your NEWTs and we'll see you for your graduation!**

**All my love,**

**Mom**

Everything that my mother says about me doing, I did. My mother and I are completely different people. I've always related more to my father. But she is my mother and I love her and all her quirks. I think that's why Luna and I became friends so fast…she's so much like my mother it's scary.

Neville and I have been in the same classes since we first came to Hogwarts. He's been another good friend of mine. He was the first friend I made in Gryffindor when the rest of the house would make fun of being for being a little know-it-all. If it weren't for him and Luna, I'm sure that I'd still be like that. It would be him that knew that Luna and I were thinking about going down to the Hog's Head to forget about the craziness that our life has become.

"Neville, I love you!" Luna says, throwing her arms around him as he walks through the portrait with a bottle of firewhiskey peeking out from his bag.

"Geez, Luna… It's not like we're in our NEWTs week or anything, right?" He says, smiling over at me as I smile back. Neville's always thought Luna was a bit…loony…but he's accepted her for who she is, just as he has me.

He sat down in the chair opposite of me as Luna made her way back to her couch-bed. He sat the bottle of firewhiskey down on the table then looked back up at me. "You'll never guess what I just heard."

"The house elves are dancing around the house tables?" Luna asks, looking completely serious before she giggles.

"Funny, Luna. No… The Ministry's looking for someone to redo the statue that's there on the first floor. I submitted some designs back at the beginning of the year for kicks, but I just got an owl from the Minister's secretary telling me that after graduation, I'm going to be making the statue!"

"Neville! That's great! What'd your Gran say about it?" I ask.

Neville shrugs. "I didn't tell her. She's always expected me to go into medicine since I'm so good at Herbology… I don't have the heart to tell her that while I love it, stuff like this is more my passion, you know?"

Neville and I are great friends. We've never been as close and Luna and I have been because deep down I know he's always wanted something more…something I could never think of having with him. He's cute and funny. I can remember him during our first year constantly having different potions covering his face and breaking different bones in his body because he was even clumsier than I am. But he's like the brother I've never had. Luna likes to tease me about my anti-romance feelings towards having a boyfriend, especially when I've got Neville around so much. Truth be told, though, the only man who's sparked something like that inside of me…well, let's just say the green eyes still are in my dreams, day dreams… Just about every thought I've had in my head for the last week seems to involve him in some way. It's not that I've never wanted to romance, it's just that a part of me truly is like my mother—I'll tell myself when it's the right time. I blame the stupid fairytales that little girls are told about knights in shining armor coming to rescue you. Everyone needs their own Prince Charming.

Sometimes I wonder if there's something wrong with me. As I've grown up, it hasn't just been the fairytales that kids are told… It's in most of the novels that our age holds. You can't seem to pick up a book without some amazing man being the idol of every female's eye. Sometimes I think that the literary world completely doomed me when it comes to love because of these unknown expectations that I have. Then again, Harry Potter _almost_ fit the description of the hero that any heroine is looking for. _Minus the arrogance and controlling issue, maybe._ I think to myself. Again I find myself going back to asking him if he was gay. _No, Hermione, I'm not._ Shiver run down my spine as I think of him saying my name. Somehow, someway, I need to find a way to get Harry Potter out of my head.

I watch Neville open the bottle of firewhiskey and pour us each a shot. He's grown up so much over the years and now, according to the other females of Hogwarts, he's one of the sexiest guys we've got. I have to admit, he's attractive in his own Neville way. I finally think that he's getting it though that we're just friends, which is good because I don't know what I'd do without his friendship. He looks up at me and smiles as he hands me over my shot.

Saturday at QuidSups is crazy. I don't ever remember us being so busy when there wasn't a game going on at Hogwarts. It's been so insane that even I've had to stop inventory count and help with the customers—something I'm sure that has Lucius almost cringing when he sees the deer-in-the-headlights look I give some customers giving me when their asking about brooms. I've picked up enough over my Hogwarts years and working here to do okay, but most of the customers seek out Draco once they're done with me to make sure that they're getting what they actually want rather than what I think they need. When I finally find a break and am able to go back to my inventory, another customer approaches me. I can hear the footsteps approaching, so I slowly look up from counting the number of Firebolt cleaning kits that we have on the shelf right now. "Can I…"

_Heart. Stop._

"Miss Granger. How wonderful it is to see you again." All I can do is stare into those intense emerald eyes.

Merlin's beard! What is HARRY POTTER doing in QuidSups?! He has a million Quidditch stores around Europe, I'm sure… Well, maybe not that many but still… Why would he come to the store that I am working at? He's looking much less formal than he did in our interview wearing a sweater and khakis, but he's still got that formal appearance that seems to trail along with him. For the second time in my life that I can remember, I'm completely lost for words.

"Mr. Potter," I manage to whisper, once I remember that it's only polite to acknowledge his presence as he has mine.

He seems to be enjoying his own little joke as his eyes light up with a smile. "I was in the area, visiting Headmistress McGonagall, when she recommended this store to me when I mentioned that I needed a few supplies. I've been meaning to come in here any way to see how Mr. Malfoy is doing. Haven't had much time to talk to him personally since the war ended. It's a great pleasure of mine to be able to see you again though, Miss Granger." His voice is making my insides doing their own cartwheels.

It's like I have a bunch of fairies floating around inside that are threatening to attack me if I don't speak to this man. I find myself blushing at just him saying 'Miss Granger'. When have I ever been like this? NEVER! What is wrong with me? Maybe I should have Madame Pompfrey check me out when I get back to Hogwarts… I don't think she'd do as good as job as check me out as I am doing of checking him… _HERMIONE!_ I scream at myself, shaking my head and trying to gather my thoughts. The things this man does to me… And he's here, at my work, talking to me. This man that has been haunting my dreams, making me think of things that I've never thought about with any man before… I mean, sure, I've thought about snogging someone. I've thought about sex. But…never with the intensity that I've thought of those things with this man standing here in front of me. I really should have a check-up with Madame Pompfrey. Something is truly wrong with me.

"Hermione. My name is Hermione," I say, finally finding my voice in the chaos that this man has done to my brain. "What can I help you with, Mr. Potter? As an expert in Quidditch I'm sure that you know exactly what you need."

"I always know exactly what I need, Hermione. The first on my list happens to be some broom ties," he says, again with the amused look like he has some joke running through his head as he speaks to me.

_Nargles! I shouldn't have said my name like that… Ugh! Broom ties, broom ties…_

"We've got various lengths for various brooms in the aisle over, Mr. Potter. Would you like me to show you?" I asked, trying to be a good employee instead of thinking the wicked thoughts I've been thinking about with this man.

The amused look finally leaves his face. "Please, Miss Granger. Show the way." He motions for me to lead the way.

_One foot in front of the other. Avoid stepping on your own feet, Granger, get a grip!_ I'm very glad that I decided that I needed to wear my flats again this morning because if I had worn the boots that Lucius wants Draco and I to wear some days, I'd be flat on the floor for the second time in front of Harry Potter. Again my thoughts can't help but go to how good looking the man following behind me is. I've never been so glad that I wore my best pair of jeans today. I add a little bit more swing into my hips, trying to be a little bit sexy as I walk in front of him.

"Here we are, Mr. Potter," I say, motioning to the shelves that contain broom ties.

"Thank you, Miss Granger. I've got a few other things on my list if you'd be so kind as to wait for me to be the correct ties for my activities," he says with that damn amused look again.

_Why is he visiting McGonagall? I can never remember him coming to the castle any other time… _"Why were you at Hogwarts, Mr. Potter?"

"We were going over my plans for the graduation ceremony, Miss Granger. I've decided for each O that the students get on their NEWTs I will be donating one hundred galleons towards the NEWT classes alone," he says, never taking his eyes off of the ties.

"Oh. Wow…that's very generous," I say, blinking. If I receive O's in all of my subjects like I plan on doing, that will be eight hundred galleons. If all the students in my class receive even four O's... _Holy crickets! How much money DOES this man have?!_

He picks up a brand that is closest to me and full stands up. I can feel my legs go to pudding as I compare how he stands beside me. He's tall, masculine, complete muscle…utterly handsome. And here I am beyond plain, completely average… What in the world am I thinking?

"Is…is there anything else?" I ask, taking the time to admire the floor from the standing level.

"I'd like some masking tape."

"Masking tape?" I ask. I want to smack my head as soon as the words come out of my mouth.

"Yes, Miss Granger. When riding a broom it gives the hands more grip," he says, eyeing me with the intensity that makes the little fairies come back and try to break out of my stomach.

"Don't you have all this at your place? For flying, I mean."

"Of course, Miss Granger. I'm just running low and figured I'd stock up," he says, again with that damn amusing smile like he's laughing at me. I feel like a regular comedian for this man for how much I humor him.

"This way," I say as I begin to walk. "Masking tape is kept at the back of the store because most people prefer to use magic over the muggle way. Lucius wouldn't have it in the store if some muggleborn hadn't suggested it that actually played Quidditch."

"Have you worked here long?" he asks, completely flabbergasting me. He's looking at me like he's trying to figure me out, like I'm some hard puzzle that needs to be solved. It's almost scary.

"Since the beginning of the year. My parents moved to Australia and I needed to find a way to not ask them for money so much since I'm so close to graduation," I say as I reach down to pick up the only masking tape we have in the store and take a mental note that I need to add that to my stocking list. "Here you go, last one," I say as I hand it over to him.

"Thank you, Miss Granger. One last thing on my list… Rope."

I give him a questioning look because for the life of me I can't figure out what rope has to do with Quidditch. I really wish that Draco could give me a manual for all the uses of some of our supplies around this place that make no sense to me…

"That's just over here… We've got a few kinds. Natural, twine, cable… Which kind did you want?" I ask, drawing out my wand and looking into his eyes. My eyes went wide at the darkness that seemed to creep into his with the look that he was giving me. _What did I do? I just asked what kind of rope that he wanted…_

"Natural," he says, his voice even deeper than it normally is.

"How long?" I ask, looking away from those brilliant eyes that could make any woman scream his name in pleasure. _Did I really just think that?_

"Five yards should be plenty, Miss Granger."

I wordless cast the spell that will severe the rope apart at the approximate length that he had asked for. I turn around to see him still staring at me with those dark eyes.

"Were you a Girl Scout?" he asks, his eyes going back to being amused with me.

"Where did that come from, Mr. Potter?" I ask, very confused. How did he even know I was a muggleborn or knew what Girl Scouts were?

"The way that you're rolling up the rope. It's not done that way in many other of my stores. Most of they just use magic to tie it together. You're actually rolling it up."

"Um…organized activities were never my thing as a child, Mr. Potter."

He gives me a look. "What was your thing then, Hermione?"

"Books," I whisper. "I preferred to be reading." I'm mentally beating myself up for almost slipping up and saying that he was my thing. I was about ready to tell him what he's doing to me, how he's affecting me.

"What kind?" he asks, seeming very interested in knowing.

"As a child I loved Jane Austen. Anything she wrote really was a companion of mine… But really, almost anything would do. I could read anything."

He nods, apparently liking my answer. Or else he's bored with me now that he realizes that I'm the studious type of person rather than the type that enjoys flying.

"Anything else you need?" I ask, suddenly wanting to retreat back to my desk…or anywhere that was not next to this man.

"I'm not completely sure. Anything else that you'd recommend from this store?"

_I'm not completely sure, either. I can't even figure out what you're doing with broom ties, masking tape, and rope. Those are about the most unusual Quidditch supplies I've ever heard of. _"For someone who truly loves flying?" I ask.

He nods.

"Our Quidditch robes are some of the best around. We've got every house team from Hogwarts and even some of the Professionals."

"Don't you think I have enough clothes, Miss Granger?"

"I don't think a flyer could ever be wearing enough clothes, Mr. Potter. When you're that high up, you'll never know what one robe will do with an everlasting cushioning charm placed on it."

"What if I prefer to not wear clothes while flying, though, Hermione?" he says this with a brightness in his eye that I've never seen him have before.

I'm speechless—third time. Did he really just say that he liked to fly in the nude…to me?! I can feel my cheeks go from their normal color to bright red. My eyes are as wide as a house elves, I'm sure.

"I'm joking, Miss Granger," the amused smile appears. "I'll take a Gryffindor jersey. Got to admire that courage, right?"

I nod, trying to not picture him flying on a broom without any clothes on.

I lead him to the front and he picks out a jersey. "Do you need anything else?" I ask, hoping that he says he's done and that he'll go to see Lucius now to check-out.

He ignores my question, though, in true Harry Potter fashion and asks one of his own instead. "How's the article coming?"

He finally says something that I can talk about and not feel like my heart is coming out of my chest. "I'm not writing it, Mr. Potter. Miss Lovegood is the journalist, not me. But she's doing a great job. She says the information you gave might make her father make her a full journalist rather than just when he needs her to be. She wishes that she could have done the interview instead. I'm sure she would have got even better information if it had been her… The only thing she regrets is not getting a few pictures to go along with her article. She said that would have truly made it the best piece of work she's ever done."

"Does she have a photographer?"

I blink. Did he really just say that? I nod, my brain going on automatic. "Our friend Neville is an amazing artist. He's very creative. I'm sure he's got a camera around somewhere, too. He's going to be designing the Ministry statue once we've graduated."

"How does tomorrow sound, Miss Granger?" he asks, his voice going rough. _Why? _I wonder.

"Luna would be in her own world if this would happen, Mr. Potter. She'd love you forever."

He seemed to cringe at the word 'love' but nodded. "Just let me know. He's my personal floo password. When you call into the floo network you've got to say 'The Palace' and add in the password. Please don't lose this card, Miss Granger. I don't hand it out to just anyone."

My eyes go wide again as I stare at the card he just handed me. It simply said what he had just told me, to say 'The Palace' but there was no password on it. "There's no…"

He put his hand over mind, well, over the card, and whispered, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," and then moved his hand, revealing that the card did say the password 'Lily Flower' on it. "Mischief managed," he said, motioning to the card. I repeated his words and the password disappeared.

"Okay," I whispered, staring up into his eyes. No words were spoken for the next couple of moments until I hear my name being screamed by none other than Draco Malfoy. I look down the aisle and see him standing there, his arms loaded with brooms. I break my gaze with Potter and run over to help Draco. Potter follows behind me, almost glaring at Draco.

"Um… Mr. Potter, this is Draco Malfoy. Draco, this is Mr. Potter, the Minister of Magic," I say, awkwardly introducing them.

Draco nods. "My father's told me about you. Thank you for your help after the war," he says. "And thank you Hermione. Dad sort of just shoved these brooms at me and told me to go put them away because he couldn't find you."

I'm semi-relieved that Draco made his appearance when he did. The staring contest that the man I can literally feel standing behind me was getting very intense…almost more intense than the dreams that I have had about him.

"You did really well today by the way, Hermione. Most of the items that you led the customers to where actually what they wanted. I must be teaching you something around here, huh?" Draco said, truly meaning it. Draco's been very good to me since he graduated. When he was in school, he was a complete arse. But now that he's out of school, making a living for himself (even if it's off his father's store), he's matured. He's no longer going around making fun of me for being, well, me.

When Draco and I finally put the brooms down on my desk, Draco stuck out his hand to Potter and he shook it, almost harder than what would be considered a normal handshake. "Is there anything else I can do for you Mr. Potter? Hermione's great, but she's not much in to Quidditch. Every now and again the customers start talking Quidditch slang and she gets sort of lost… No offensive, Hermione. I just want to make sure that you've gotten everything that you need, Mr. Potter."

"Hermione was more than adequate help, Mr. Malfoy. She provided me with everything that I came in here looking for and answered many of my questions about the establishment," he said. He has on his formal face that I saw him using with his secretaries… But is words are saying something much more. He doesn't call me Hermione very much, except in a teasing matter. To be saying it to Draco instead of calling me Miss Granger? I shake my head. _Men._

"Great. See you later, Hermione. Good day to you, Mr. Potter," Draco says with a nod and then he disappears off to finish more tasks.

I turn back to look at Potter and see the darkness that I saw earlier in his eyes. "Anything else, Mr. Potter, or should I take you to Lucius to have him ring you up?"

"Can you just do it back here at your desk, Miss Granger?" he asks. I give him a questioning look but nod my head and ring in his items.

"10 galleons, please, Mr. Potter. I'm sorry, but I don't have any sacks back here with me…"

"It's alright, Hermione," he says as he hands over the galleons. He's back to being all formal. It's like he's a completely different person now since Draco appeared. When his hand touches mine, it's like ice shoots through my veins. The way his eyes are staring so intently at me…his hand almost stroking the back of mind as he slides his hand back down to his side… It's so unnerving, so completely frustrating… "You'll floo me with the details if your friend agrees about the photo shoot tomorrow, correct?"

I nod, lost for words for Merlin doesn't even know how many times now all because of this man. He smiles again, going back to being the Potter than I've seen throughout the store for the last while.

"Good," he says and turns around to leave the store. He suddenly turns around to see me fanning myself from the heat I'm feeling from being around him. "And Miss Granger?" he asks.

"Hmm?"

"I'm glad that Miss Lovegood couldn't do the interview," and with that and another intense eye stare, he's walking out of QuidSups.

_I like him._ I say to myself. It's been bothering me and bothering me and I've been trying to deny it, but after today, I simply can't. The man has a hold over me that no one else has ever had. I bit my lip, finding my thoughts going down that dark path that Harry Potter seems to be able to lead my mind down. I need to hurry up and get inventory for the day done and get back up the castle to talk to Luna and Neville about organizing a photo shoot with Harry Potter.


	3. Set it on Fire

Chapter title goes to My Darkest Days… And of course the rest to J.K Rowling and E.L. James. And hopefully, my new idea of breaks in scenes (50505050) will actually work in this chapter. I'm sorry if the previous ones were a little hard to follow… The breaks didn't work since I tried to use *** and - the last two times.

Special shout out to my two reviewers, pawsrule and albrkic! You're amazing! =) Another thanks goes out to all of you that have added this story to your favorites or alerts. It makes my day so much better when I check my E-mail and see something new for this story!

**50 Shades of Harmony**

**Chapter 3: Set it on Fire**

"Seriously?! You mean Harry Potter, photos… Seriously?!" Luna squeals, bouncing up and down clapping her hands. "I can't believe it Hermione! You're brilliant! But, wait… Why was he at QuidSups?"

"He was here at Hogwarts, visiting McGonagall about a donation he's making for our NEWTs exams. She recommended the shop," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"I think he was here to see you, Hermione. Come on, the guy gave you his _personal_ floo network password! You want to know how many people probably have that? Like…maybe only a handful of people—and you're one of them!"

The idea bubbles in my head, causing those fairies inside to start attacking my stomach again. "It's business, Luna. I just happened to be there to help," I say, sounding as disappointed as I felt the realization hit me right where the fairies were fluttering.

"Even if he's going to be donating a bunch of galleons based on our O's, Hermione, he still stopped into the store that you happened to be working at… He has his own Quidditch shops around Europe. He's even got his own store that he personally oversees. Why would he have to stop into yours? I'll tell you—it's you, Hermione. He's completely and utterly drawn to you since I happened to send you to interview him!"

I roll my eyes, shaking my head at her. "We need to ask Neville if he'll do this for us. See if your father will put his name with the pictures or something so he can get recognition for them. We've also got to figure out where we're going to take the pictures and such… He is famous. It's not like he can come strolling into our dorm to do a photo shoot for us…for you."

"More like for you, lady!" Luna giggles.

"He's just trying to be nice, Luna. It is his first interview ever published… He needs to look for good it, right?" _Maybe Luna's right…maybe he does like me. Like she said, he did give me his floo password… He did say he was glad that Luna didn't do the interview… I mean, maybe, right? _I sigh, which makes Luna look up at me.

Neville walks through the portrait, his eyes showing that he'd been studying throughout the day from the bags hanging under them. Luna's eye light up.

"Neville, my favorite artist! How are you this evening?" she asks, patting the couch next to her for him to sit down.

"Um…tired, I guess. NEWTs and all, you know…" he mumbles, sliding his bag down next to his chair that he occupies instead of Luna's couch.

"Well splendid, my friend. Have you ever thought of branching out from doing art work and doing photography? You've got a camera, don't you?"

"Well, yeah…I've got a camera that you gave me last year for Christmas, actually…I've never used it or anything really…"

"It works though, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I think so. From the time I let you borrow it to go looking for nargles…it came back with a bunch of really good landscape shots."

"Brilliant. How do you feel about taking pictures of people?"

"It's not really my thing, Luna…"

"But you'd do it for Hermione and me, wouldn't you? It's a once in a lifetime chance, Neville. It's for my article on Harry Potter. Daddy would put your names with the pictures then who knows who would be calling you up wanting you to do work for them! Especially after they hear that you're going to be doing the statue in the Ministry, too… You'll be famous, Neville. Bloody famous! So, what do you say? You'll do it, right?"

I can't help but laugh as the wrath of Luna Lovegood descends upon someone who is not me in the name of her article.

"I mean, I guess I can try… I can't promise they'll be…"

"They'll be wonderful, I'm sure, Neville! Now we just have to figure out a time and place!" Luna says, smiling brightly. You can't help but be affected by this woman. People say that I'm scary-brilliant, but Luna is just plain scary sometimes—especially when she wants something.

"What about the Room of Requirement? We can turn it into anything that we need to," Neville suggests.

"No, no… Potter's too famous to go walking around Hogwarts, Hermione even said that Neville…"

"Well, I wasn't here for that, was I?" Neville shakes his head, looking at Luna.

"Oh yeah, sorry… Well, what about outside of Hogwarts, by the tree you always go to, Hermione? I'm sure that with your skills we could place enough notice-me-not charms around the area that no one will go over by it… And he could simply walk up here from Hogsmeade on the back road to get to it, so no one has to see him… It's perfect! Right, right?" Luna's doing her bouncing up and down tactic again when she's had another good idea. It's a very bad thing to not indulge the girl when credit is due to her.

"It's great, Luna. Now we just need a time," I say, taking a mental note of all the things I need to tell Potter when I get the chance to floo-call him.

"Well, when are you free?" she asks like it's the only obvious question.

"Shouldn't it be when you and Neville are free, Luna? It's your article and Neville's taking the pictures…"

"Ah, but we're not the ones he's coming to see, now are we?" Luna says in her sing-song voice where she's proving a point again. I look to Neville to see him giving an impassive look towards Luna.

"Whenever you guys are good to go, I'm good. Just let me know in the morning, okay? I'm exhausted from all the studying I did today. If I don't get straight O's I'm thinking that the tests are jinxed against us. I'm going to bed. Good night, Hermione. You too, Luna," he says as he picks up his bag and heads towards his door.

Luna looks back at me. "I'm free all day. So, when do you want to do this, Hermione?"

"Ummm… How about around nine in the morning? It still gives me the rest of the day to study…"

"Sounds splendid! Now, do you want me to go into your room while you give him a call or am I okay to stay here on my couch?"

"I can't use our fireplace, Luna… It's not hooked up to the floo network…"

"Silly Hermione. Of course it is—for calls only. Didn't you read the Heads' Guide when you became Head Girl? Even I read that manual so I'd know all about your rooms…"

I cocked my head to the side, wondering if Luna just made up this guide that she says that she's read. We never got such a thing upon learning that we were Heads. I shrug my shoulders and go over to the fireplace, wondering if I just stick my head into the burning fire or not. I happen to be muggleborn. I'm not saying that it's a hinder to me in any way, but new magical things do tend to stump me if I've never read about them… Floo calling, okay—when you have floo powder. Without, though? I look over to Luna. "Did you happen to read where there was any powder to use for calls, then, Luna?"

Luna rolled her eyes at me and tapped her wand against the table. "When you're making calls, my dear friend, you just need to use your wand. No need to waste powder."

"Oh… Okay." I pull out my wand, pointing it at the fireplace, and say in a clear voice, "The Palace."

A dreamy voice that reminds me of Luna asks for the password, which I give. "One moment please, Miss Granger. Mr. Potter is being alerted to your call right now," the voice says.

I look back at Luna who only shrugs. Evidentially even this one is new for her. Suddenly Potter's head forms in the fire. Damn it if he doesn't even look good in fire.

"Ah, Miss Granger, how nice to hear from you in short time. I take it that you had the chance to talk to Miss Lovegood and Mr. Longbottom, then?"

I try to remember if I ever said Neville's last name when I mentioned he might be willing to take the photos, but shake off the feeling of wonder. His voice sounds different right now than it has before, which has taken more of a place in my mind than over what I might have said. My cheeks are flushing, something that Luna rarely sees me do, and never for a guy. I'm fully aware she's staring me down as I try to figure out what to say to Harry Potter.

"Um—yeah. Yeah, I did. They're fully on board. Would you be able to walk to Hogsmeade tomorrow? I'd walk down there and show you the place we picked out… It's well away from people, as I know you like your privacy and everything…"

"Wonderful, Hermione. When would you like me to be there?" Again, that tone of voice, saying my actual name… I'm glad that I'm kneeling in front of the fireplace or else I'd be on my knees in seconds begging for something that I'm not proud to admit I'd want from him.

"Nine. If you want to come in a little early so I could meet you there, that'd be great… It'd give me enough time to set up all the privacy spells and such so we weren't interrupted or anything… During the photo shoot, I mean…"

I can hear the laughter that is in his voice. It truly amazes me how humorous this man thinks that I am.

"Let's plan on 8:30 at the Shrieking Shack to meet then. I'll be looking forward to seeing you, Miss Granger."

"All right then. Good bye, Mr. Potter," I say and flick my wand to end the connection. I turn around to see a bouncing Luna, yet again.

"You like him! You really like him!" she squeals like she's just realizing this for the first time. I blush. "And you're blushing about it! You barely ever blush!"

"Oh shut it, Luna. I blush all the time. Like you said, everyone has to be affected by Harry Potter, right? Don't be ridiculous. He's just very intimidating, that's all. Nothing more," I say as I stand up, dusting off my knees. I'm fully ready to head towards my bedroom right now to escape this squealing blonde that is my best friend.

She gives me a look that only Luna can give as I roll my eyes and walk towards my room, fully aware that she knows exactly how much I like that cursed man Harry Potter.

50505050

I can't sleep that night. I'm tossing and turning and can't get the vision of Harry Potter flying around the Hogwarts Pitch naked out of my head. I sit up in my bed, trying to get my heart to stop racing. _Great. I'm going to look wonderful tomorrow when we go to take these pictures._ I rub my eyes, try to think of potions formulas to fall asleep, but the potions are all turning a brilliant shade of emerald… So now I'm even going to fail my potions NEWTs because I can't seem to get this man out of head…

50505050

I yawn as I walk towards Hogsmeade. Luckily the chill of the morning is waking me up a little bit more than even my tea did this morning. Of course Luna had to comment on the bags under my eyes from the night before. Maybe if I didn't spend most of my night trying to not think about how much Mr. Potter affects me… Well, I might be able to get a little more sleep. I slowly walk up the path to the Shrieking Shack. Rumor has it that a werewolf once stayed here and an escaped convict. Good thing that I've never believed in rumors or else I might not have agreed to meet Potter here. Who am I trying to kid? I'd still be meeting the man here. He could probably tell me that I needed to sit through a Divination class to be able to meet him and I'd still do it.

As I enter through to door, Mr. Potter is sitting on a rickety old bed, seeming to be lost in a distant memory. He seems startled when the board I step on makes very loud creek.

"Miss Granger," he says as he stands up. It's the first time that I take notice of his appearance and for all the nargles in the world, I wish that I didn't. He's so unbelievably gorgeous that the fairies try to escape of my throat instead of just massacring my insides. He's wearing a black button-up shirt that is opened to show just the top of a green muscle shirt underneath. His jeans are hanging from his hips, almost inviting someone to try and take them off. His hair, though never truly put together, is even wilder. It takes all my will to not faint from the very sight of him. _If only Luna could see me now… I think it's better that she's not here at this second, though. I'm so glad that I agreed to meet with him and walk with him back to the castle._

"Mr. Potter," I manage to say, finding my voice amongst the fairies that are battling my vocal cords. He gives me a soft smile that I can barely see. I'm glad that I can't take my eyes off of him because this smile looks so good on the man that I can feel myself becoming turned on by just this. I'm so glad that he didn't call me Hermione right now. Miss Granger fits me just fine.

"I'm waiting for someone to get here. He had to go in to town to collect a few things for me. Is it okay if we wait for him?" he asks.

I nod. "Of course. I didn't realize you'd be bringing company."

"Mr. Lupin normally accompanies me where ever I go. He was actually at the front of QuidSups yesterday waiting for me. Bodyguards tend to do that, Miss Granger."

Again, I nod, feeling that that's the only motion that I'm capable of doing. I'm luckily that at that moment Mr. Lupin stepped inside the Shack. I turn around to look at him. He's in his late thirties and looks nothing like I figured someone for Harry Potter would look like. He's got shaggy light brown hair and eyes that look even rougher than mine do this morning. He's not as kept as the people at the Ministry were, but he's still wearing a dark brown suit that actually looks a little worn in. I smile at him, offering out my hand.

Mr. Lupin looks down at my hand like it's a foreign object for someone to shake his hand. He limply takes mine and gives it quick shake then drops it back down and his hand goes back to his side. He looks over at Potter and gives a nod.

"All right, Miss Granger. If you'd be so kind to lead the way to the spot you have chosen," Potter gestures towards the door. Mr. Lupin immediately goes to it and opens it up for me, finally looking me in the eyes. It's almost like he's asking me silently if I know what I'm getting myself in to by being with Harry Potter.

"Thank you, Mr. Lupin," I say softly and begin to walk out of the door. Potter quickly catches up to me, taking each step that I do. Mr. Lupin follows behind us. If I hadn't turned around to look at him, I wouldn't have even known he was with us.

"So… How are you?" I say, trying to find something to talk about on the walk back up to the castle.

Potter looks over at me, his eyes questioning my words. It's like he's never been asked this before, just like it seemed that Mr. Lupin had never shaken anyone hand.

"Um—good, Miss Granger. How…how are you?"

"Better now. I haven't been sleeping well these past few days. It's always good when I finally feel awake," I say, finding the ground to be very interesting as I'm staring at it so intently.

"Have you gone to see your school nurse? I'm sure that she could give you some dreamless sleep potion that could help you sleep better."

"I hadn't thought of going to her about my nighttime problems, actually." Which is all true. I just swore yesterday that you're the cause of something wrong with me…. Why didn't I think about going and asking for potions from Madame Pompfrey? Just as I'm wondering this, a rock seems to think that the ground and I needed to become better acquainted.

Strong arms wrap around my middle to keep me from trying to eat the dirt along the path. When I'm tilted back, I'm looking up into the eyes that have been haunting me. I'm pretty sure that I quit breathing and if at that moment someone had come along, I'd be declared dead because my heart stopped beating as well…or else it was beating so fast that I couldn't even feel it any more. Potter gives me that soft smile that has become my new favorite thing in the world—even more so than books.

"You really need to stop doing this, Hermione," he whispers down to me. "A man would think that you'd like being on the ground or something."

My cheeks turn bright red at his words as he stands me back up. I've never wanted to be kissed so bad by someone in my entire life but this man… His face is literally a hand touch away from mine. It wouldn't take much for him to lean down and I'd completely disappear from this world. _Please_. I beg inside, hoping that my dreams could only become a reality. Within moments though of his emerald orbs staring into my plain brown ones, I'm being sat back up on my feet. I'm glad that I can feel my feet touching the ground because I need to make sure that I am truly here in this moment.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter, for catching me," I say as we start over on our walk to Hogwarts and my heat breaks a little bit inside that I didn't get t experience that kiss I'd been hoping for. I'm so glad that I can see the gates now, but a part of me is devastated at the same time. Even though Mr. Lupin is right before us, this is the most alone I've ever felt with Potter.

Luna sees us and waves from my tree. She and Neville have sat a blanket on the ground in front of the tree and have brought out a chair to do some shots with as well. Luna is beaming at me as she sees me walking so close to Potter. If you know Luna Lovegood, you can tell exactly where her mind has wandered off to like it loves to do so much.

"Luna, Neville… This is Mr. Harry Potter, Minister of Magic," I say as we approach. Mr. Potter puts out his hand to shake both of theirs.

"It's a pleasure. I've heard a lot about both of you," He says. Again, I try to remember telling him 'a lot' about my friends, but shake my head and decide he's just trying to be nice, pretending that I haven't been a complete mess around him basically every time that we've talked.

"Thank you so much for agreeing to do this, Mr. Potter," Luna says giving off her beautiful smile. I'm suddenly very self-conscious about my best friend actually meeting Potter. So far, it's only been me… And if going off of his office, his type is definitely blondes. Luna just so happens to be one of the dreamiest—in the truest sense—of the world of blondes.

Potter nods his head at her then looks over at Neville. It must be my mind playing tricks on me, but he doesn't seem to be affected my Luna the way that most people are. Often she's got them so caught up in her world that it's hard to touch base with reality. "Where would you like to start, Mr. Longbottom? It seems that you have put together a few ideas…"

"Hermione needs to set up the charms first before we begin anything, I think. We don't need the students approaching us wondering what we're doing" Luna says, looking at me. Her knowing eyes make me blink. "Of course," I say and immediately go to work.

I'm aware of Neville and Luna talking to Potter as I go around the area making it was private as possible. I didn't know that I could be so angry at myself for being the top student in my year. They always looked towards me when it came to getting things done around here. I'd give anything to be standing next to him, listening to his voice as he takes command of the photo shoot that he's simply supposed to be participating in. It's got to be the control freak in him that leads him to naturally do what he's best at—commanding others. As I look back towards the group, I can see Mr. Lupin standing off to the side, watching me as I cast my last spell. He nods his head, almost in a way of saying good work. I give a slight smile and then approach the group again, standing next to Potter.

"All right. Are we ready?" he asks, looking down at me. I look over to my two friends who nod.

It session goes wonderfully. Luna is standing back with me, motioning for Neville snap different poses of Potter. Potter, for his lack of liking to do anything with publicity, seems to be a perfect natural. I bet he's good at everything he tries. It seems like he's just that kind of man. I can feel my heart racing as he sits in the chair backwards facing the lake. I hope that I can sneak a few of these pictures for myself because the idea of Harry Potter looking off towards the lake like I've done so many times from near this tree takes my breath away.

"And that's a wrap!" Luna says as she bounces on her eyes. She must be visioning how her article will look with some of these photos of Harry Potter next to her writing. It's sure to be an outsold publication of the Quibbler.

Potter stands up and moves over towards me. He leans down to where I can feel his hot breath on my neck. A fire starts to burn deep in my stomach, catching all the fairies on fire and replacing them with a heat that will surely make me begin to melt to the ground any moment. "Will you walk back to Hogsmeade with me?"

I look towards Luna who's cocking her head to the side as Neville begins to pick up the blanket he had spread on the ground. She gives her head a nod like she wants to speak with me in private.

"Give me one moment," I whisper, looking up to him. He gives me that smile as I move towards Luna and he moves more towards Mr. Lupin. He stops to say something to Neville on the way.

Luna walks towards the lake, her hair fluttering behind her as she stands with her arms across her chest. "I'm worried about you," she says.

"What?" I ask. Isn't this the girl who couldn't wait to pair me up with this man?

"There's something about him, Hermione. I can't put my finger on it, but I don't think he's right for someone like you."

"What do you mean, someone like me?" I begin to feel irritated.

"You're so innocent, Hermione. I don't want him to hurt you. He could crush you with one glance."

"Luna, I'm a grown woman. I think I can handle myself around Harry Potter."

She nods her head. "Just please, be careful, Hermione. I don't know what I'd do if I lost my best friend."

I give her a quick hug. "I'll be fine, Luna. I promise." We walk back up to where Potter and Mr. Lupin are waiting for me to walk with them. Neville has disappeared back up to the castle with his camera and the few things that he brought down.

"Thank you again, Mr. Potter. I'll see you in a while, Hermione," Luna says before she turns to leave as well.

Instead of Mr. Lupin walking behind us this time, he seems to be keeping a good pace in front of us. This walk seems to take a lot longer than it did the first time around when we were walking to Hogwarts. I take my chance and look up at Potter to see him staring down at me.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks me softly.

My eyes go wide. Did he really just ask me what I was thinking about? This man…he has no idea the torture that is simply his being towards me. "The ground seems flatter this way," I smile.

He actually lets out a laugh at this statement, shaking his head at me. I'm glad I now have the proof that I needed to see that he thinks I'm funny. "What?" I ask, challenging my words to him. "I haven't seemed to trip this way at least, right?"

"Very true, Hermione. Very true… Is he your boyfriend?"

Again, my eyes go wide. Where does this man learn his etiquette skills? Surely he was taught that if you're going to ask something like that, you should probably have more a led in than simply asking the thoughts of the person.

"Who?"

"The photographer, Neville."

This time it's my turn to laugh at him. The way his face changes is so immediate it's almost scary. I shake my head at him. "No, Neville's not my boyfriend. Why would you think that?"

Potter shrugged. "The way he kept looking at you. He kept smiling at everything that you said. When you were putting up the charms around the area, instead of talking about how he wanted me to be sitting and such like he should have been, he kept going on about how you are the brightest witch of the century to come out of Hogwarts."

"He's more like my protective older brother. He likes to mention that to almost anyone."

Potter nods again, looking ahead as we walk. I take to looking at the ground. A few moments later, though, it seems like his curiosity gets the better of him again. "What about the man from yesterday, Malfoy? He seemed quite taken with you. You kept blushing at him."

I give him an almost disgusted look as he mentions the idea about Draco. "No. Draco is nothing like that. He only just started to be nice to me once he graduated from Hogwarts. One doesn't exactly fancy someone who used to be one of your biggest tormentors."

"He hurt you?" Potter's deadly serious now.

"Never physically. Luna and Neville helped me through the words."

"You seem nervous around people."

_Seriously… Where does this man get off asking me these things? What is he trying to get at?!_

"You," I whisper, looking back up from the ground to see him staring at me. "You're a very intimidating person."

"I am, Miss Granger. It's good for you to know that. Please don't look back down. I need to see your face to have some idea of what you're thinking. You're like a puzzle. One that I'm very…anxious…to solve."

I stop in my tracks. I'm the puzzle? Has he ever looked in the mirror? "No nearly as mysterious as you are, Mr. Potter."

"It would seem that we have a lot in common then," he says as he gives me that smile and continues to move forward, just expecting me to follow. Of course, I do.

"Are you like this with everyone?" I ask. I almost regret to hear the answer to this one.

"No, I'm not. Am I offending you?"

I shake my head as I catch up to him.

"Good," he says and looks down at me as I'm looking down at the ground.

"You're very controlling."

His eyes give off the darkness that I'd seen earlier. These looks, much like his soft smile, are beginning the fire within me again.

"I'm very use to getting my way, Hermione. In all things."

"I've noticed."

"You're a very defiant person."

"How so?"

"Your friend warned you to stay away from me, but here you stand. Walking to Hogsmeade with me makes little to no sense. You seem like a person of logic and facts. Especially with the way you keep biting your lip like you're so deep in thought you have to bring yourself out of it." _Wow_. _He's very…observant._

"Why haven't you asked me to call you by your first name yet? We're not meeting in your office anymore," I look up into his eyes.

"The only people who call me Harry are my family and the few people I can call my friends, Miss Granger."

I nod. It hurts a little bit that he hasn't asked me considering how much we've been talking lately.

"Are you an only child?" he asks.

I'm beginning to wonder if this brilliant mind might suffer from a lack of focus, only to remember how focused he'd have to be to accomplish all that he has found such a young age. "Yes, I am."

"Tell me about your parents."

I give him a questioning look.

"If I remember correctly, you've already interviewed me. There were some very personal questions you asked. Answering one about your parents shouldn't be too probing, should it?"

"You never asked a question," I say as I roll my eyes at him.

"Using my own words against me now, Miss Granger."

"It's what I do, Mr. Potter. If you must know, they're enjoying their time in Australia. My father has found a passion with flowers. My mother enjoys spending her time reading."

He nods. "She must be where you got your love of books from."

I smile, nodding my head. "Yes. My mother often jokes that's the only trait I ever got from her."

"So you're more like your father then."

"Yes. My mother reminds me a lot of Luna. She's very mystical in her own way. If she were a witch, I'd wonder if she'd fancy herself a seer. My father has always been the logical one."

"Like father like daughter."

I nod. "The only thing I can't identify with him is his love of sports. He used to play football when he was at university. He never misses a match on the television. I've told you a bit about my parents, what about yours?"

He shrugged. "Molly's a stay-at-home mom. She raised eight children all who have gone off to make a name for themselves. Arthur's actually at the ministry with me. He leads our Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department. He's done a lot to turn his part of the Ministry around, especially with me as the minister."

"What about your siblings? You said that they all do something important."

"Bill's a curse breaker at Gringrotts. Charlie runs his own dragon camp in Romania. Percy went to the muggle world where he runs a nonprofit organization to help muggleborn students. Fred and George run their own business, WWW. Ron is a Quidditch recruiter. And finally, Ginny is in United States, studying art."

"That's a mouthful," I say. _Without much actual feelings about them except for Arthur._ "I hear the U.S. is lovely."

"It is, at least parts of it. Have you ever been?"

I shake my head.

"Would you like to go?"

_Is this man for real? _"Well, of course. There's a lot of history there, new and old. I'd really like to visit New York City, though."

His finger brushes over his lip, threatening to drive me insane. "Why?" he asks.

"I'd love to see the Statue of Liberty, Central Park…basically everything. Seeing a play on Broadway… It'd be amazing. The idea of walking down the streets there…It wouldn't be the same as here. Imagine sitting down on a bench, reading…" I get a little lost in my fantasy until I hit the word reading. I should be studying for my NEWTs, not taking a walk with Harry Potter!

"I really sure go back. I need to be studying."

"For your NEWTs?"

"Yes. They start in two days. I can't believe I'm not studying right now!" I feel myself blushing again. It's a part of me that will never go away. I need to know. Before I can go, though, I need to ask him just one more question. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

He gives me that dark stare again, shaking his head. "No, Miss Granger. I don't do the girlfriend thing."

_Did he lie to me during the interview? How could he not do the girlfriend thing? _Getting so lost in my thoughts wondering what he could mean by this, I don't realize that I'm about ready to fall flat on my face yet again and once more, I'm being held in his strong arms.


	4. Running Up That Hill

As always, the works belong to J.K. Rowling and E. L. James. I'm just taking their brilliance and tweaking it to my own liking a bit. =) I'm also using a quote or two from Jane Austen's _Emma _in this chapter. Thanks to everyone who added this story to their favorites or to their alerts! And a special shout out to pawsrule, albrkic, and HarryHermioneBellaEdwrd for being the reviewers.

One more thing before we start chapter four… I'm not sure how often I'll update—I work forty plus hours a week, go to school for twenty, and then have all the homework that comes with those college classes… I'm lucky to get five hours of sleep a night. I write in the not-so-spare time, so it all just depends. I'll try for at least once a week, if not more…Sometimes it might be less. It really all just depends. I do plan on covering all three 50 books in this verse, though, so hopefully you'll stick around for each of them. Now for chapter four! Chapter title goes to Placebo.

**50 Shades of Harmony**

**Chapter 4: Running Up That Hill**

_How clumsy can one person be?! _I ask myself as again I open up my eyes to be staring into his emerald eyes while being wrapped in his arms. I really wish the man would just kiss me so maybe I could get these thoughts out of my head. I bite my lip, trying to bring his attention to that part of my anatomy. Potter's breathing harder than he normally does. As if answering my question, he shakes his head at me and stands me back on my feet, still holding on to my shoulders.

"Hermione, you really should avoid me. I'm not the man for you. You deserve someone more than I am," he says softly, looking into my eyes as he warns me. I actually glare at him, thinking of Luna's words to me earlier. Do these people not realize that within a few weeks I'll be graduated from Hogwarts, top of my class? I'm seventeen-years-old—a legal witch in this world! Can I not make up my own mind and decide exactly what I want? Evidentially not in their minds.

"Are you all right?" he asks.

I roll my eyes which seem to make his go darker. I nod my head. "I'm pretty sure for how much I've been falling on my face recently; I've got this, Mr. Potter…and thank you."

"For what?" he asks. He still hasn't removed his hands from my shoulders.

"For saving me."

"Saving you?"

"How many times could I have seriously hurt myself, Mr. Potter, if you hadn't been there to catch me as I fall? Thank you for doing the photo shoot. Luna will be gushing about it from the moment she sees me, I'm sure." I've never heard my voice sound so harsh towards someone who hadn't actually done anything directly to me. It's not like Harry Potter knew he was breaking a part of my heart by not kissing me, by not wanting me. Why would he want someone as plain as me? I was stupid for ever thinking that he could actually like me.

"Hermione…I…" he can't finish his words. His voice sounds as broken as my heart is so I look back up into his eyes. His eyes are very light now as he takes his hand and runs it through his unruly raven hair. I have to wonder what happened to the man that was so put together…the one who always had to be in control. The man standing before me seems nothing like him right now as it seems like he's fighting an inner battle between two demons.

"What, Harry?" I finally snap. He doesn't deserve my pity. He's put me through hell these past few days. If it isn't obvious that I like him, I don't know what is any more. I need to collect my Gryffindor pride as I walk away. I am Hermione Granger after all.

"Good luck on your NEWTs," he says softly.

_Really? That's all he has to say to me after this?_ "Thanks," I say as I turn to walk away. I hope he can hear the sarcasm in my voice that I've never really been good with. I start walking back to Hogwarts, not letting myself look back towards him, even though I can feel his eyes following me until I've finally disappeared over the hill.

When I reach my tree, I collapse against it finally allowing the tears to fall from my eyes. I hate crying. I think it's one of the most useless things a person can do. If you're sad, you should do something about it, not sit around crying over it. Look how far it got me in my first year… I'm so lucky that I had Luna and Neville with me. I try to convince myself that I'll be okay in the end. Right now, though, I feel so small, so rejected. I sit staring at the lake, hugging my knees to my chest. How can I be crying over something that I never even had? An owl flies across the clouds. It's such a beautiful sight that I have to close my eyes as the tears finally cease.

I've felt rejection before from my peers. Throughout primary school I was always the last person picked for teams. No one wanted the bookworm who was horrible at sports. I've been picked on since I can remember for using my knowledge as a shield. Whenever I get nervous, I can't help but blurt out the answers. I knew it wouldn't make me friends being the know-it-all, but it's a trait that I had to work very hard to break myself of. When it comes to romance, though, Luna is very right. I've never put myself out there. I've never wanted to. I've always been the one rejecting others, but a hell of a lot nicer than Harry Potter did to me. I explained to Neville how I thought of him only as a friend and told him that I never wanted to lose his friendship. Draco, for each time that he's hit on me, knows that I could never see him that way. Okay…so maybe I'm not as nice to them when it comes to that as I like to think I am. I really sure work on being nicer about it, especially if they feel like I do each time that I close that alley.

I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I'm not sure if I'm ready to face Luna just yet, but I know that I have too. I need to study. Studying will help my thoughts. If I get so lost in my notes, maybe Harry Potter will finally not be at the front of my mind.

50505050

"What's wrong?" Luna asks the second that I take a step into the common room. She hasn't even turned her head from her parchments, but somehow, in a true Luna fashion, she knows.

"What do you mean?" I ask, trying to steady my voice.

Luna looks up at me, her finger marking the spot she was reading. "You've been crying. What did that git do, Hermione?" She's angry. Luna's a very scary person when she's angry because it's so unlike her. She's always happy-go-lucky. I can remember when her fellow Ravenclaws use to hide her shoes from her and she would say the nargles must have needed them more than she did and at that at one point, they'd return to her. If anyone can take that with such bliss…well, like I said, angry Luna is scary.

"Nothing, Luna," I say, trying to give her a smile. That really is the problem—I'm left with nothing of Harry Potter.

"Then why are you crying, Hermione? You never cry," she scoots over on her couch and makes me sit down next to her, pulling me into an embrace. I have to give her something, even if she's not going to believe me.

"I about bashed my head into the ground numerous times today. I guess it's just getting to me."

"Really, Hermione? Are you okay?"

I nod. "Each time Harry caught me," I whisper, looking into the fire place.

"He likes you, Hermione," she says as she releases me from the hug.

"Not anymore. I won't be seeing him again besides graduation." I manage to say this without letting the tears that are threatening to escape from my eyes fall.

"Really?"

Damn it. Now she wants to know more, just like Luna always does. I really should have thought about what I was going to say to her rather than letting myself cry by the tree earlier. I knew she'd want to know the story behind this.

"Yeah…he's a little out of my league, Luna," I roll my eyes. Didn't she tell me that she thought I should stay away from him? Shouldn't she be happy about this?

"What do you mean?"

"Really, Luna? It's kind of obvious, don't you think?"

Luna shakes her head. "Not to me. He's got more money than you, sure. He's defeated a dark lord, sure. He's ridiculously good looking, sure. But still…"

"But still what, Luna? You've mentioned some pretty good things there. I'm just plain Hermione while he's the famous Harry Potter. What could he possibly see in me?"

"You're amazing, Hermione. You've got so much to offer any one who's willing to take the time to get to know you. You're beyond smart. You're a great friend. You're very beautiful…"

I raise my eyebrow at her.

"You are, Hermione. You just don't see it. When you look in the mirror, you see this 'plain Hermione'. When everyone else looks at you, they see what beauty is really about. You've got these dark eyes that…"

"I really need to study, Luna," I say as I stand up and grab my bag that is sitting next to my chair where I left it. I'm in a deep need of sitting at the desk in my room and absorbing myself in my books.

"Whatever you say, Hermione. Do you want to read the article? It's finished. Neville added in some amazing pictures." She's got the completed work sitting on her lap, beckoning me to read it.

"Sure," I manage a smile as she hands me the papers and suddenly I'm staring into those emerald eyes. I can see his gaze shifting between the waters and off to the side. The side where I just happen to be standing outside of the picture. What could he be thinking? Is he wondering how he's going to get me off his back since he finally realized that I was slowly becoming obsessed with him? I really try to read the article like I know I should. Luna's always been a good friend to me. I should read her words. But I can't bring myself to read it. I'll be able to hear his voice telling me I should stay away from him. Him rejecting me. I'm suddenly aware of how opposite Harry and I are. He's so perfect and I'm so…not. I'm like a bird trying to fly against the wind to catch up to something that I can never truly have. It almost makes his rejection a little easier to handle once I've realized exactly how out of my league he his. He'll be perfect for someone if he'll ever have her….he'll just never be perfect for me. I hand the papers back to Luna and give her a true smile.

"It's wonderful," I say to her. "I really do need to go and study now, though." Luna gives me a nod as she takes the papers back and sit them on the table, drawing her knees up to her chest and she starts to hum to herself.

I walk into my room and sit out my desk, bringing out all of my notes. I'm not going to think of Harry Potter for the rest of the night. I'm going to study my arse off so I can make him pay eight hundred galleons for every O that I'm going to get on my NEWTs.

50505050

I set my quill down. I'm finished. My final NEWT, Charms, is complete. My practical exams are done. My written parts are all done. I don't know whether I'm excited or sad. For seven years now I've been working towards this moment. I smile. It's the first true smile I've had on my face all week. I stand up and see Neville tapping his quill against the desk. Luna is sitting behind him, her feet moving to a beat she must have going on in her head and she writes away. My smile spreads to more of my face as I realize we'll be celebrating tonight, so I must be excited over being sad. I don't like to drink very much. I'm more of a social drinker who will likely be the one to apparate others to where they need to go because of how drunk they are. But tonight I've decided to hell with it, I want to get sloshed. I think I deserve it. I've never truly been drunk and what better time than now? The end of my academic career—the true beginning of my adult life. I'll never have to sit in a classroom where other students aren't paying attention. I'll never have to another lecture where I have to take notes—even though I know that with whatever job I get, I'll still probably do something along those lines…but it won't be for a grade. I'm actually done! After I bring my parchments up to the front of the room, I see Luna look up from her own. She gives me a Luna smile as she too stands up and begins to walk to the front to hand hers in. We walk out of the Great Hall and immediately turn to each other.

"We did it!" we both say at the same time. We laugh. We walk back to the common room, Luna swinging her arms as she twirls around. I almost want to join her because her happiness is spreading.

As we enter what I've finally decided to call our common room, there's a package sitting on the in-table in front of the fireplace. Luna walks up to it and hands it to me. "It's for you," she says.

"It doesn't say a name on it." I'm turning the package upside down to see if maybe it was placed on the wrong side.

"That's because there's a card sitting here, too," Luna holds it in front of me. Sure enough, it's addressed to Miss Hermione Granger in an almost chicken scratch writing. I've never seen the writing before. I open up the envelope for it to turn into a small letter that reads…

**Were I to fall in love, indeed, it would be a different thing! but I have never been in love; it is not my way, or my nature; and I do not think I ever shall. And, without love, I am sure I should be a fool to change such a situation as mine.**

I blink as I stare at the paper. What the hell could this mean? I know the quote—I've read _Emma_ before. Jane Austen is my favorite muggle author…but who, besides my parents, would send me something with a quote from my favorite book. I open up the package that came along with and my eyes go so wide they feel like they're going to pop out of my eye socket. Inside are three books: _Emma, Pride and Prejudice, _and _Sense and Sensibility_. Of course, I own these books. They're sitting on one of the bookshelves in my room right now. When I open the front cover of _Emma_, though, I feel my knees go weak. This is a first edition copy. I quickly look to the other two only to see that they are too. I think I'm going to faint. I know who sent these now and I'm suddenly pissed. The quote, the fact that these books are worth more than I'll probably ever see in my lifetime…just mainly the fact that bloody Harry Potter sent them to me right after my exams are done has me reeling.

Luna picks up the card that I've dropped in the process of losing my mind over the books. She's seen me reading the books before and tilts her head to the side, knowing that I've got my own copies in my room.

"First editions," I say.

"Wow. Really. Who…Potter?"

I nod. "Who else would be able to afford these that I know? In the muggle world, I'm sure that these book run for £180,000, a piece. That's 36,000 galleons a piece for these books!"

"What does the card mean?"

"I think that's kind of obvious… This is his more formal way of rejecting me. He'll never fall in love with me because it's how he is. He doesn't do the whole girlfriend thing. I don't know why he had to send these to me, though. It's not like I'm at his office every day trying to get in to see him. It's been over a week and I'm just fine where I am, without him."

"I know you don't want to talk about him, Hermione, but he's seriously into you. Warnings are no. You've got to be crazy about someone if you're willing to spend that much money on them getting them something that they'll quite possibly love more than they love their own best friend."

"It won't matter, Luna, because I can't accept these. What kind of person would I be if I took them from him? No…I'll find some way to send these back to him and boggle his own mind. Sending them back by owl will never do. I think I'll use my own _Emma _quote on him… 'I lay it down as a general rule, Harriet, that if a woman doubts as to whether she should accept a man or not, she certainly ought to refuse him.' Yeah… That sounds good to me!" I'm pretty sure that Luna's caught on that I'm angry but at the same time I'm torn inside.

She hands me a glass of alcoholic butterbeer that she's had chilling out all day for us to finish our exams. She holds up her bottle and motions for me to do the same. "To the end of our exams and to our new life outside of the Hogwarts walls—without Harry Potter in it!" she says, smiling at me.

"And to every single person getting straight O's on all of their exams," I grin as we click the bottles together and we drain the bottles.

50505050

The bar is extremely loud and completely full. Luna, Neville, and I were not the only seventh years who decided that a Friday night out after their exams was exactly what was called for. Muggle drinks, wizard drinks, possibly even house elf drinks are going all around the tavern. I'm sure that Aberforth has no idea who owes him what for all the alcohol being consumed tonight. I'm pretty sure at one point I told him to bill Harry Potter for all the drinks…I'm pretty out of it right now.

Neville and I sit at the counter. Luna has wondered off. She loves to dance and I'm pretty sure that's exactly what she's doing right now. As I turn around, my suspicions are confirmed as I see her leading Justin, a fellow Ravenclaw, off to dance with her. His eyes are completely on her right now. Luna is wearing something that she picked up from a muggle mall when she came to visit me over the summer—tight black skirt, tiny baby blue camisole, and high heels that match her shirt. Luna never looks like this. No Hogwarts female ever looks like this. I'm even out of place in the black leggings and an off-the-shoulder green shirt she practically dressed me in tonight. I still don't compare to Luna in the looks department, though.

"So where to now, Hermione?" Neville asks as he takes a swig of whatever he's drinking.

I run my finger across the top of the margarita I'm drinking and shrug. "Luna and I are moving to Diagon Alley. She's going to be working for her father and I have no idea what I'm going to be doing yet. Luna's father bought us a small house on the skirts of town to live in till we can pay him back. What about you?"

"That'd be nice…I'm going to rent a flat in London, probably. My Gran said I can have what's left in my trust vault to start out with but 'I need to learn the value of a galleon' so after that I'm completely on my own. I figure I'll try getting a job at St. Mungo's or something to I can even afford the flat. Do you want another?" he asks, motioning down to my now empty glass.

"Why Neville Longbottom, are you trying to get me drunk? I think it might be working," I giggle. "I think I'd better go with butterbeer on this round. I'll go get us some."

Luna manages to make her way over by us while still dancing. "More drinks, Hermione!" she says in a very sing-song voice. Luna drunk brings out the best in all her dreaminess. She basically floats away as I laugh at her and I set off to try to find Aberforth. When I stand up, my head starts to spin. I decide that while I'm at it, I better go to the bathroom. Of course there's a line. Drunken people always seem to need to pee. Alcohol goes right to the bladder. As I'm standing there I see the backroom and figure I need to sit down for a moment since my head is still spinning.

When I walk into the room, there's a long couch sitting in front of a fireplace. I'm sure there's been making people in here tonight with all the hormones floating around. Fireplace… Hmmm… Before I realize what I'm doing, I've got my wand out calling out 'The Palace' and fumbling over 'Lily Flower'. The same voice from before starts to talk, but I don't even let her finish before I start to speak my mind.

"How dare you send me those books when you know that they're my favorite… You bloody pompous, arrogant prick!"

"Hermione?"

Harry's head is suddenly in the fireplace, scaring me so much that I fall back on to the couch laughing.

"Why did you send me books?"

"Hermione, are you okay?"

"Why do you always got to ask the questions? I thought I was supposed to be interviewing you, Mr. High-and-Mighty-I-Killed-Voldemort."

"Have you been drinking, Hermione?"

"What's it to you? Remember, you don't want me. You don't do the girlfriend thing. I'm just Hermione—I'm no one to you."

"I'm just curious, Hermione. Where are you?"

"In a tavern. That's where people normally get drunk unless they're shelled off people like you. You probably do all your drinking in your own little bat cave, don't you?"

"Which bar, Hermione?"

"A bar…somewhere. Maybe in one of those bloody expensive books that you sent your rejection note with."

"How are you getting back to Hogwarts?"

"I'll probably walk. I've gotten a bit better at that without you around."

"Which tavern are you at, Hermione?"

"Why did you send me the books, _Harry_?"

"Hermione, where are you? Tell me now." He's in his control-freak mode. I start giggling as I imagine him with a military buzz cut directing out orders to tiny mice. I really must be too drunk for my own good right now.

"You're so…domineering," I'm still giggling.

His breath goes very sharp. So sharp even in a drunk state I notice. "Hermione, so fucking help me. Where the hell are you?"

Harry Potter is swearing at me. It makes me laugh even more. "Maybeeee I'm in a tavern in _Sense and Sensible_. That wouldn't make much sense though, would it? I've never been very sensible since I meet you I guess."

"Hermione…"

"Good night, Harry."

"Hermione!"

My wand snaps around and shuts off the connection. He didn't tell me about the books like I wanted him to, but right now I really don't care. I think I'm too drunk and I'm glad that the line to the bathroom has gone down in my little talk with Mr. Potter. I'm pretty sure this is the last time I'm going to get drunk. As I'm walking out of the bathroom, a white stag patronus is suddenly in front of me, backing me up against the wall. Can anyone else see this or are they also too drunk to realize it?

"I'm coming to get you, Hermione," the voice of Harry Potter says as the stag speaks to me. My eyes go wide and suddenly I'm giggling again. I don't even remember giggling this much before in my life. I pat the stag behind the ear and whisper to it, "Good luck with that one, Potter. There's no point in coming to get someone you don't even want to be around." I know from reading that Potter will never get my side of the message. Sending a patronus like this is one-way communication. I guess he got tired of arguing with me in the backroom.

I make my way back to the actual bar part of the room and see Luna sitting down next to Neville and Justin as I order butterbeer for us. When I make my way over to the table they're now sitting at, Luna is giving me a tiny glare.

"You've been gone for ages, Hermione!" she says as she pours some of the butterbeer into her glass.

"Bathroom. That line just keeps going and going," I say as I try to pour some of it into my glass that Neville has brought over to this new location with him. I look over at Neville and see that he and Justin are deep in conversation over something Quidditch. I look back to Luna. "I think I need to go outside and get some fresh air."

Luna nods. "You're a lightweight."

"I'll be back in five minutes."

I manage to make my way outside of Hogshead. My head falls back against the wall as I try to steady myself. This is worse than my normal clumsy-self. I feel like I have no feet. I'm starting to see double of everything. I think I'm going to be sick. Why did I let myself get this drunk?

"Hermione," Neville's beside me now. "Are you okay?"

"Besides being completely sloshed?"

"Me too," he says. His eyes have narrowed in on me. "Do you need help back inside?" His arm is suddenly around my bare shoulders.

"I'm okay, Neville. I got this," I try to move his arm.

"Hermione, please," he pleads with me. He's got both of his hands on my shoulders now, making me look him in the face. I can see him moving closer to my face—even if I'm seeing two of him.

"What are you doing, Neville?"

"You know how much I like you, Hermione. Why can't we just do this?" He's leaning down towards me, his lips inches away from mine. He's really going to try to kiss me!

"No, Neville. No—stop." I try to push him away, but he's not budging. I'm either too weak or Neville's too strong and with the state of mind I'm in right now, I really don't know which is which.

One of his hands has slipped into my hair and the other is now at the small of my back. I'm being held in place as he just seems to be getting closer and closer.

"Please, Hermione…" he whispers. His breath smells too sweet—too much like butterbeers and margaritas. He's kissing my jawline now. I'm really going to be sick now.

"Neville, no," I plead with him. _I don't want this. You're my friend—just my friend. And I'm going to throw up._

"I believe the woman said no," a dark voice says from somewhere where I can't see the face of the speaker. But I know who it is. I've heard this tone before. Harry Potter is actually here, just like he said he would be. How did he find me? Neville lets go of me.

"Potter," he says, tensing up. I glance up at Harry. He's sending glares at Neville that if looks could kill, Neville would have already died a million deaths. My stomach can no longer take it. I'm doubled over, making sure that Aberforth's flowers are being thoroughly drenched in vomit.

"Damn it, Hermione!" Neville yells, jumping away from me. I'm pretty sure I've hit his shoes since he was still standing so close to me. Harry's now next to me, holding my hair up for me. He's leading me over to the edge of the building more towards the darkness as I'm still puking.

"It's okay, Hermione. If you're going to throw up again, do it here. I've got you," he whispers to me. He's got one arm around my shoulder and the other still holding my hair back for me. I go to shove him away from me, but once again I'm over with the contents of my stomach emptying out of me. Even when my stomach is empty, I'm still trying to vomit. _This is why I don't drink. Ugh._ Finally, it stops.

My hands are against the cold wall of the building as I steady my breathing. I'm barely standing up. If it weren't for Harry and the wall, I'd be face-down on the ground. Potter's holding out a handkerchief that has _HJP_ etched on the bottom. I didn't even realize that people still had these around. I take it and wipe my mouth off. I can't look at him. After what just happened, it's worse than asking him if he's gay. It's worse than tripping over my own feet in front of him. I'm beyond embarrassed to be standing in front of this man. When I look towards the entrance of Hogshead, Neville's still standing there, watching. I groan. Today has to be the worse day of my life. As I try to remind myself that it's not—Harry's rejection was worse than this—but this is such a different case of humiliation that I have to wonder if these two memories can even be counted together when it comes to comparing them. With thinking of how much he hurt me, I take a peek up at Harry. He's staring down at me, his face giving away no emotions. I glare over at Neville. I've got a few chose words for my 'friend' that will be better delivered when I'm sober.

"I'll…see toy inside," Neville mumbles as he quickly goes back through the doorway.

And just like that, I'm left alone with Potter. Well, crap. What should I say?

"I'm sorry," I mumble, fumbling around with his handkerchief,

"What are you sorry for, Hermione?"

Damn it. He's going to make me say this.

"The floo call, mainly. I shouldn't have done that. Being sick. The list kind of just goes on," I say as I start to blush. _Can I just die now?_

"Everybody's been there, Hermione. Some just not to the same degree that you went to tonight," he says. "It's all about limits. I'm all for pushing your limits and testing yourself to see how far you can go, but this is a little much. I take it that you're not a big drinker."

I shake my head, making myself dizzy by doing so, so I stop. I wonder why he's here. He sounds like a parent yelling at their child for doing something wrong. Part of me wants to remind him that I'm a grown woman and I can do what I want, but my Gryffindor side has disappeared with his presence here. Why doesn't he leave?

"No," I say. "I've never been drunk before and right now, I don't think I'll ever do it again. Lesson learned."

"Come on, I'll take you home."

"I need to tell Luna." He's wrapped his arm around my shoulder again.

"My brother can tell her."

"What?"

"Ron came with me tonight. He's in there talking to Miss Lovegood now."

"Why?"

"He was with me when your head popped up in my fireplace. He followed me in to my study when I was alerted to your call."

"How did you find me?"

"I traced the call. When I thought about it, you did just finish your exams. There are not many taverns around Hogwarts. If I hadn't traced it then I would have just came to Hogsmeade and walked around to the few of them till I found you."

Magic is a truly wondrous thing sometimes. I hadn't even thought about him doing that, but I really should have. I'm sure that if I wasn't so drunk my logic would have kicked in.

"Do you have a cloak?"

"Yeah… Listen, Harry, I really need to tell Luna myself. She'll be worried sick if I don't tell her."

His lips go in to a straight line and I can tell he's seriously thinking about telling me no, but he still nods his head. "If you must," he says as he leads the way inside.

It's too crowded and too loud. My head that's already pounding starts pounding even more. I look to where we were sitting at before I had to go outside and the only person sitting there is Justin. I lead Harry over to him.

"Where's Luna?" I shout, trying to make sure that he hears me above all this noise.

"Dancing," he shouts back, pointing towards an area. He's pissed. He's sending glares towards Harry like somehow it's his fault. I grab by grey cloak and Harry's there to help me put it on. I look towards where Justin pointed.

I lean up to be right next to Harry's ear, "She's dancing," I say. Being this close to him, on my own will, has me feeling even more intoxicated—but it's completely different this time. This time I'm drunk on Harry Potter. He smells of aftershave; he's got such a clean smell, so fresh. There's a hint of something Quidditch—it reminds me of being at work. All the feelings that I've been trying so hard to push away are swimming around again. The fairies are taking dives with the empty contents of my stomach. My cheeks heat up and somewhere deep inside of me my muscles are clenching deliciously.

He rolls his eyes at me and takes my hand again and leads me to the bar. He's given a glass without even asking. I think back to when I was standing here not very long ago and it took me forever to get a pitcher of butterbeer. He doesn't even have to ask for his drink, which he hands to me.

"Drink," he shouts his order to me.

I can feel his gaze on me as I take a tiny sip of the chilling water.

"All of it."

He's so controlling. He's frustrated as his hand starts to run through his unruly raven locks. Anger is being spoken by volumes through his eyes. What's wrong with him? Am I not drinking the water he didn't even have to ask for? I apologized for being so stupid tonight. It's not like I'll forget any time soon that I basically drunk called him then got violently ill right next to him. My conscious is sitting at a bar in the back of my mind, shaking her head at me. I roll my eyes and continue to drink the water. When I'm finished, he's placed the cup down and taken my hand again, leading me to a different location. Where are we going? Dance floor—well nargles. He can feel me tense up which makes his amused smile appear. He pulls me close to him and he starts to move, making me follow along. Maybe it's because I'm drunk that I'm able to not fall flat on my face—you need to be graceful to dance, something that is completely not me. Maybe it's the man who I'm dancing with. His tight body against mine, holding me close to him. So close I can feel every curve of his chest. So close that if I wanted to, I could unbutton his green shirt that matches the one that I'm wearing beneath my cloak even further than it already is. If he wasn't holding me, I know I'd be on my face.

He moves us through the crowd till we're beside Luna and a man with red hair. He's very tall, taller than Harry. This must be his brother. Which one is it again? The music is starting to get to me. I can barely think. I notice how Luna's dancing with Ron and realize that she's hitting on me—like actually flirting with him. Damn, Luna must like him. There will be four people in our common room come tomorrow morning—three if Neville decides to go to the Gryffindor tower instead. Wait! Wasn't there something that I was supposed to tell Luna?

Harry leans over and shouts something at Ron. I can't hear what he's saying. Ron's pulling Luna into his arms, where she's giving her beautiful smile which he seems to be sharing with her. She's only just met him but she fancies him so bad that it almost hurts to see the look in her blue eyes. She nods at whatever Ron's just whispered in her ear and then waves at me with that dreamy look. In less than a second, Harry and I are next to the door instead of on the dance floor.

I never got to talk to Luna. Harry did all the talking for me. Does she know that he's taking me back to Hogwarts? What's up with Ron? I really need to remind her that she's got a supply of her contraception potion in our bathroom. It's too warm in here. My head's spinning. The next thing I know, I'm collapsing into Harry's arm, not being able to see straight. The last thing that I hear before I pass out is Harry's dark voice, "Fuck!"


End file.
